Hyena
HYENA is a dramatic film that features a one-woman performance by Mollena Williams-Haas,. Prior to the production of the film Ms. Williams-Haas performed the original theatrical piece with Klangforum Wien. The film's style and tone is that of a one-woman performance recounting one of her most personal and difficult moments:
When a woman goes to rehab to heal from her addiction to alcohol, it inspires a beautiful, poetic and harrowing journey of words.
Notably, the piece is fully-scored with original music by acclaimed composer, Georg Friedrich Haas, and performed by the Talea Ensemble. Haas is considered to be one of the major European composers of his generation. HYENA is a bold and courageous journey of words into the mind of an alcohol addicted woman who must fight her worst demon - the titular "hyena". It is a lavish and gorgeous treatment of light, color, words, music and performance.
Behind The Scenes
"Hyena" was directed by Jack Perez who is known for his stylistic thrillers, including La Cucaracha. the comedy-horror, Some Guy Who Kills People executive produced by John Landis.
He also directed Unauthorized: Brady Bunch - The Final Days and the cult classic, Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus, whose trailer went viral and was named by Yahoo! as one of the top 10 trailers of 2009, with more trailer views than Avatar.
Is an American actress, writer, and performer. As a child, she performed in the movie, The Wiz where she sang backup for Lena Horne.
In 1992, she appeared in several independent films, including Skin and Bone. She co-starred in the independent cult classic America's Deadliest Home Video where she first collaborated with writer/director Jack Perez. The movie also stars Danny Bonaduce and Melora Walters, and is widely considered the grandfather of all "found footage" movies, predating Man Bites Dog and The Blair Witch Project.
The film production and principal photography for Hyena took place in Portland, Oregon. Special thanks to the Portland Center Stage At The Armory for their generous support!