Camilla Daries Making Her Mark

Ten-year-old Camilla Jo-Ann Daries doesn’t realise just how much her life is about to change.Despite having her face on the ‘Baxu and the Giants’ movie poster, portraying the titular character in a major Namibian film and being nominated for best actress at the Namibian Film and Theatre Awards, it is all still just a fun experience for her.

And it’s no wonder. This is the Grade 4 AI Steenkamp Primary School pupil’s first time embarking on such a mammoth journey. Her first time acting, her first time being at a movie premiere and her first time seeing herself on the big screen.

This major shift in her life was one she says she could have never envisioned, but that it’s all thanks to a decision her and her mother Zelonia made one fine Sunday.

“We were at church and my mom heard some movie auditions would be taking place, so she called me to try out. At first I was like ‘Mom, I’m in church singing’, but then she said I should go so I did,” Daries says, almost unable to contain her elation at the thought that they almost didn’t go to church that day.

She says she got the lines and memorised them in record time as she was intrigued by the prospect of being on camera.

It was not an entirely far-fetched idea for little Daries to be an actress or for her mother to encourage her to attend the audition as she already liked singing and dancing for fun.

“Camilla’s always been a performer,” her mom boasts, and is still reeling from the whole experience. Zelonia is amazed at how her daughter’s life is about to blow up, as the film has already won best foreign narrative at the San Francisco Independent Short Film Festival after its world premiere in the American city on 14 September.

It’s a life Daries is excited for, even if she doesn’t quite grasp it yet. When asked about her feelings regarding the big win, she just shrugged and called it ‘cool’, adding that she didn’t know what or where San Francisco was. But perhaps the attention she gets at home and in her social circles is what will sink in for her very soon.

“Everyone at school calls me Baxu,” she complains, crossing her arms in annoyance. “I tell them, no, I’m Daries.” But being Baxu is a pretty big deal for someone just approaching her pre-teen years.

‘Baxu and the Giants’ is a fun short children’s film from the pens of Girley Jazama and Florian Schott. It was commissioned by the Legal Assistance Centre as a cautionary tale against rhino poaching, with Schott in the director’s seat and Daries portraying a young and inquisitive character with a heart of gold.

To get the part, Daries shares she had to get into a different mind frame and shake off her fears.

“When I went into the audition, I was so nervous, but then I thought, let me just be like the people I see on TV and then it was easy,” she says.

From there, she got the call that her audition had been successful. She was elated and couldn’t wait to share the news.

“I was jumping around and told all my friends. I was so excited; I couldn’t believe it was true,” Daries giggles.

It was this excitement Schott tried to make sure was always there throughout the 10-day shooting process in February.

“You know, in the beginning a lot of people said that I was being too nice to her, that I needed to be more strict. But what they didn’t realise is that I needed to be her friend. As her director, I didn’t want to be some authoritative figure or for this to be work for her, so we always had to make it fun. We had to make it a game. That way she was always excited to be on set,” says Schott after the Windhoek premiere at the Grove Mall’s Ster-Kinekor last Thursday.

He says working with her was different to his previous experiences with new talent as he didn’t have to spend a lot of time training her or getting her to understand acting. It was more about making her comfortable and putting her in realistic scenarios.

“She could be having fun and playing around, but once we were able to get her to focus, it went smoothly.”

The formula must have worked as Daries sings praises about the shooting process. She says she didn’t mind that some filming days started as early as 05h00, because other days began as late as 10h00.

Because of this, her memory of stepping on set for the first time is as clear as day.

“It was very magical. When I met everybody else from the movie, I was very shy, but then I got over it quickly,” Daries says, recounting the moments she says happened so quickly for her, but made her feel brave.

This newfound tenacity has spilled over into her regular life as her mom says the budding talent has now grown in confidence.

Later this year, ‘Baxu and the Giants’ will be screened at the Knysna Film Festival in South Africa, the Silicon Valley African Film Festival in the US and the Hague Global Cinema Festival in the Netherlands, according to Schott.

What this means for Daries is that her portrayal of Baxu will be seen by thousands of eyes and many opportunities could open up for her, a dream her mother has always had for her.

“As a mother, you always want to give your children what you can so that they can build an even better life for themselves, so I am just glad she is already able to do this for herself early in her life.”

But Zelonia is not naive about what it’ll mean for her little girl, who is beginning a life ‘Spiderman’ actor Tom Holland once described as “a beast you can’t control or be prepared for”.

– @MissAnneDastood on social media