Gail Mabalane Stars In A New Movie ‘INDEMNITY’

I started off at the age of 5 entering a talent competition because my mom hoped it would help me get out of my shell a bit. 🙂 I guess she also saw something in me at that tender age that I didn’t know yet.  Beauty pageants have helped me gain confidence ans security in myself.  I’m so glad that I was part of many…they’ve helped me grow.  To be honest…I stumbled into acting.  I entered Idols in 2010 and was voted out Top10…then I heard about auditions happening for The Wild.  Without hesitation, I thought, I’m going to give it a try…then landed one of the biggest roles on the show, with no acting training or experience.  I know that door opening had nothing to do with me…but everything to do with where God was taking me next.  So, I jumped all the way in and immersed myself in the craft, and 10years later, I see my first movie poster at the cinema with my kids! 🙂

Renee Williamson is my first ever Afrikaans speaking character.  She’s a workaholic, and doesn’t rest until she has solved or has closure on a case.  She lives for her daughter, and would to anything for her.  She’s one of the “good cops”, always aiming at staying on the right side of the law.  As I’m sure many cops have experienced, her integrity as a cop gets tested.

I’m grateful to have found a balance in my life.  This balance is something we constantly have to check in with.  It’s very easy to get lost in the “busy-ness” of the industry, but I’ve learnt to keep the first things first, and keep my eye on what matters most.  That alone, eliminates a lot of busy-ness and helps me prioritise. From a pressure perspective, a lot of the pressure we tend to feel comes from the pressure we put on ourself or the pressure that we allow people to put on us.  My spirituality has really helped to keep me rooted.

The hardest part of what I do is definitely having to work away from my family sometimes. Sometimes having to board a flight on a Sunday morning to shoot in a different city isn’t always easy.  The journey is worth it (for all of us), as I’m sure many working moms can relate to.  What this has helped us do as a family is really focus on spending quality time together.  When we are together, we are together…that’s a priority.  We also don’t miss big days, like birthdays, mother’s day, father’s day and important events in our kid’s calendars.

After getting the role, a lot of the research for me is done by just observing…watching people.  Then if it’s a more specific role like the cop/detective I play in Indemnity I watch cops…spend time with them.  For Indemnity, I spend time on the shooting range so I can be comfortable with handling a weapon.  I don’t have any system in particular that I follow necessarily…but as an actor, I love and enjoy watching people…even if it’s for future reference.

 Ethnogenics was birthed out of my own journey with hair loss.  In 2019 I had to go completely bald due to hair loss I had experienced.  Through the trauma, came the need for me to share my story with others and that resulted in many women (and men) coming forward.  I did not at the time find a product that helped me along my hair regrowth journey, so I felt like I wanted to be part of the solution by formulating my own range of products.  The brand is not only aimed at empowering us to make better hair care choices that could prevent permanent hair loss, but the products are enriched with very nutritional ingredients that can assist in our hair growing back healthier and stronger. Partnering with Clicks is also a big win, because the product then is accessible to many.

I’m not sure for anyone else, but certainly for me, inner beauty is priceless…and timeless.  No matter what we do on the outside to have beauty, eventually cracks will start showing…because outwardly, we are but only flesh. When we take are of the inner being…that beauty radiates from the inside, and has the ability to bring so much light to the world…much needed light.

I always say that as human beings, our greatest purpose is to be of service.  We are not here for just ourselves…God’s vision, I believe has always been bigger than that.  We are here to impact each other’s lives…that is why when people pass on, we don’t so much remember what they had…but we remember how they made us feel…so relationships are everything.  Being of service gives us purpose beyond ourselves.

I’m not sure that it has significantly changed a big part of my life. I mean, I’ve certainly gained some popularity and influence, but my life has pretty much stayed the same.  I’m a very simple person, I enjoy the simple things in life…things that money cannot always.  I’ve maintained the same friends, and stay close to my family, which is such a blessing for me because it keeps me grounded.

I’m so proud of team Indemnity…cast and crew alike.  Firstly, we filmed Indemnity right in the middle of the pandamic…we’ve had to stop-start more than once…and I am so grateful and proud that we were able to finish this incredible film and now are able to share it with South Africa and the world.  I’m excited to see what the future holds for filmmaking in South Africa.  Indemnity is just another reminder that we have so so much to offer the world…so let’s keep pushing through the concrete to tell our authentic stories.