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worked on that, so that she saw the role as a character and accepted
that it was not her, and that people would make the same distinction.’
‘it was hans’ persuasive power which enabled me to perform the role,’
ella adds. ‘the connection between us was very strong and he was a
good mentor and mental coach, because the role is very hard, the film
is very harsh for a girl of 15.’ although she is now relaxed about being
seen in the film, there is a lingering worry about the older generation
of viewers. ‘it’s a film that requires a lot of open-mindedness,’ she says.
‘i’m a bit concerned that my grandfather will have trouble putting it in
the right context!’
For herself, she didn’t have much time to dwell upon it. ‘when i left
the set the character of deborah was still in my mind, but i had exams
a week afterwards, so i had to become the normal ella again.’ For the
moment her education comes first. ‘the main thing is to finish school,
but if there are opportunities, if someone offers me another role, i’ll
be happy to say yes, if it’s a character that i think i can get into.’
and of course she has no regrets about taking the role in Bo. ‘the
shoot lasted two months and in those two months i learned more than
i could have in three years at school.’
MONSTER
For herbots, the next project is to adapt Flemish author tom lanoye’s
'Monster trilogy' into a 10-episode tv series. the story concerns the
members of a rich industrial family in west Flanders during the 1990s,
their personal stories unfolding against the background of events such
as the dutroux child abduction case and the death of king baudouin.
‘the nation went through some traumatic events which changed the way
we looked at politics, the judiciary and the police,’ herbots explains.