Some familiar faces will make their appearance in the short feature, which, as befits Hellenthal’s trademark, lasts about fifteen minutes. One of them is former basketball player Rik Smits, who lent his voice for just that little bit extra cachet to different scenes. The tall Eindhoven resident (2.24 meters) has a smaller role, but is like motivational speaker of important value for main character Malika.
“I think it’s great that he wants to link his name to this,” says Hellenthal about the snare of Smits, who made name and fame in America especially in the nineties.
Also Cees Geel, known for roles in Cops Rotterdam and cinema hit Simon, is one of the familiar faces. The North Hollander has not had an easy childhood himself. “He comes from a poor family. He used to work among the flower bulbs to pay for everything. Cycling kilometers. The motivation to contribute to the film came from himself.”
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