Everything you need to know about Zara Woolf, the creator of Wild Angel
Zara always knew she wanted to work in the entertainment industry. Before filmmaking, Zara Woolf spent much of her childhood hoping she’d become an actress.
Zara had to search out a conservatoire environment that enabled her to develop her skills and find her creative voice. The twenty-year-old said “I wanted teachers that challenged and inspired me and fellow creatives that shared my intensity.”
She attended numerous part time drama schools until she found the Young Actors Theatre Islington.
Having stated she’d suffered “verbal slander and bullying” at secondary school, Zara says in hindsight this made her “even more determined to succeed in the industry”. Her love of acting, and the idea of future success in the arts provided solace, making her pathway through school a great deal more tolerable.
But, ten years after discovering her passion for acting, she describes acquiring a strong desire to take a more active route in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry.
“I got so frustrated with the acting industry. I felt like all I was doing was sitting and waiting for someone to give me permission to do what I was passionate about. I wanted to create those opportunities for myself. I remember when I first watched the Netflix show, Stranger Things, I said to myself, I actually don’t care if I’m acting or not, I just want to be part of creating something so spectacular like this.”
Now, Zara’s work has been recognised by multiple film festivals, receiving nominations such as “Best Feminist Short” at festival RNAB and “Best Film” at Kalakari Film Fest. She founded Woolf Productions in 2020, creating her debut short film, Red Velvet, released on Amazon Prime Video in January 2021.
Woolf Production’s latest short is “Wild Angel”. At nineteen years old, Zara self-financed and gathered a crew of talented artists to create this second feminist coming of age, demonstrating her ability to maximise production values on a micro budget. Wild Angel follows the coming-of-age journey of bisexual teen “Angel”, as she navigates the first steps in pursuit of her dream career. She says the film was created to help inspire young women to take initiative and stand up for what they believe in.
The Global Premiere for Wild Angel will take place on July 9th at 6:00pm BST (12:00pm CDT, 1:00pm EST, 10:00am PST) on Paus.tv as part of the “Paus Premieres Festival”. With projects in the works such as her next coming of age short, “Friday Night Shidduch”, Zara Woolf clearly intends to stick around for a while.
You can follow Zara Woolf on Instagram @FilmmakerZara and @WildAngelFilm.