Salamina Mosese, Stephina Zwane-Groenewald say Homewrecker a labour of love

Former child stars and filmmakers Salamina Mosese and Stephina Zwane-Groenewald are following on the success of their 2018 Baby Mamas with what promises to be another banger with Homewrecker.

Currently on Netflix, the mystery film was a labour of love for the duo, who got their big break on e.tv after-school kids programme Craze.

The film is written and directed by Zwane-Groenewald, with Mosese as producer. Mosese has also made a name for herself in front of the camera starring in Baba Mamas, 7de Laan and Abo Mzala.

“The dynamics of a producer as opposed to an actor has been an eye-opening experience. With Sheph working heavily on the creative side of things, I needed to focus all my attention on how the film is framed and delivered,” she said.

“With Baby Mamas I was both producing and acting on it... it was quite refreshing taking more production control behind the scenes. 

“The aim, as females in the film industry, is to put our projects that we can be proud of. We want to empower a whole team of females into the game. As Africans, we have to take control of the narration of our stories and I’m glad we’re in the direction to do so.”

The film stars Letoya Makhene-Pulumo, Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa, Tshepo “Howza” Mosese and Nkosinathi “Nay Maps” Maphalala. The screenplay depicts the dark side of jealousy, insatiable hunger for success and the extreme lengths one would take to live someone else’s life.   

The casting process happened around the Covid-19 pandemic met with lockdown restrictions.

“Homewrecker is easily one of the hardest projects we’ve ever taken upon us. We shot it a day after we were put in level 4 lockdown and had to follow protocol on set and the anxiety of crew and cast members’ health on set. I was also pregnant when we shot it but to see it come to life like this is truly astonishing,” she said.

“Initially the first person we put on tape was Letoya who had a tricky schedule due to being on a daily soapie (Generations: The Legacy) but she managed to juggle shooting our movie under the demands of her hectic schedule.

“Enhle was one of the actors we cast in the second phase of the film and she fit into the character right on point. It has been interesting to watch both these ladies’ characters have a showdown and show us their impressive skills.”