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For its 19th year, Australia’s own Phoebe Wolfe set out for the HollyShorts film festival in Los Angeles to debut her first film, The Overthrow. A budding wunderkind of immense talent across film, photography, writing and beyond, Wolfe has established herself as a one-to-watch in the local pond, but this month, she heads to Hollywood to celebrate a major milestone—one of many, we’re sure. Here, she takes us behind her lens.
“It’s Academy Award qualifying, which means that if you win one of the top awards, you qualify for the Oscars,” the writer and director tells GRAZIA of the prestige she finds herself surrounded by. “Many industry professionals based in LA schedule Q&As—this year, one of my idols, Patty Jenkins, gave a talk on her career path and industry changes worldwide, which was incredible to witness.”
Since working as a videographer while studying international politics at the University of Sydney, Wolfe realised her desire to utilise the medium as a way to meditate on political ideas in contradictory and relatable ways. Little did she know that it would lead her to where she is now.
“I was incredibly surprised to find out that my debut film, The Overthrow, would be screening alongside this high calibre of talent,” she says. Though the film had previously screened at Flickerfest, an Academy Award-qualifying short film festival from Sydney, and has been touring locally ever since, getting a global kick was a wild wish. “For our international premiere to be in LA was really surreal. Honestly, it couldn’t have been further from our expectations when shooting in the middle of rural NSW.”
The Overthrow follows two young girls who decide to rollerskate from Sydney to Canberra in an emission-less quest to protest climate change. “When I first set out to make the film, I wanted to explore my own climate anxieties and how palpable they can become,” she explains. “But, as I watched climate activism unfold on social media from my bedroom during the pandemic, I felt unsettled by how binary the conversation was becoming on a global issue as complex as global warming.”
On a personal level, Wolfe, like many of us, has grappled with the impassioned need for climate change action while contemplating the imperfect nature of activism in a post-pandemic world. And with this film, she gets to the marrow of some big questions with compelling tensions that ultimately offer a thoughtful understanding of navigating these plights on an individual level. Garnering a heap of local praise already, the short packs a whole lot of commentary and heart within its 14-minute runtime—no wonder Hollywood’s come knocking.
For her LA debut with the HollyShorts, Wolfe collaborated with Chanel, a brand that has long been intertwined with film, with its founder Gabrielle Coco Chanel deeply involved in cinema. Dressed in the house’s signature tweed, Wolfe takes us along with her for the international premiere of The Overthrow, with snapshots and tidbits from a very memorable evening.
Getting ready in Los Feliz. I was staying in the cutest apartment that overlooked the city and surrounding mountains. Watching the sunsets never got old.
Here I am, waiting for my Uber to head over to the festival opening night! Despite nearing 7 pm, the LA sun was still blazing. The nerves were definitely kicking in at this point…
On my way to the afterparty… I walked past an imprint of Marilyn Monroe’s earring!
Inside the TCL Chinese Theatre as the opening night screenings began to start! It felt surreal to be in a cinema that’s been screening films since the 20s. I wondered how many people had sat in this seat before me.
This year there was a great short produced by Alfonso Cuarón called Le Pupille about Christmas at a religious girls’ boarding school in the 1940s. Shadow Brother Sunday was another standout to me, exploring sibling resentment and jealousy (executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola!).
The absurd experience of the after-party! Met many driven and inspiring international independent filmmakers—we were all chatting about stories, the strikes, and the future of this industry in our respective countries. It was exciting to feel like Hollywood could be becoming less of a bubble with more voices being platformed as opportunities spread worldwide.
After picking up our filmmaker badges, we made the trek up to Griffith Observatory before the screening. I’ll never get over these mountain ranges!
I was trying to spot the Hollywood sign before I realised I was on the wrong side—resorted to people-watching instead.
I’m obsessed with this little CHANEL belt.
The view from behind the Chinese theatre was dreamy. LA is such a fast-paced city; the congested traffic somehow looks like a set to me. I thought it might be the contrast between the industrial city and the nature behind it.
Until next time, Bye!
