Late Bloomers Fest to spotlight shorts from filmmakers over 50
At Tropfest’s industry accelerator Roughcut in February, actor, writer and director Clare Pickering says she felt compelled to put up her hand.
Pickering was at the event as she had a project shortlisted for the short film festival for the third time. While a huge fan of Tropfest and what it stands for, she says a lot of the festival’s promotional material and the conversation during the accelerator focused on how the festival supports the next generation of emerging filmmakers. As someone who joined the industry later in life – her production company is called Late Bloomers Productions – she felt she wasn’t necessarily reflected in the narrative.
So when a panel with festival founder John Polson called for questions to the floor, she had an “overwhelming calling” to speak up.
“I said, ‘Look, I’m probably one of the oldest people in the room. Tropfest is really good at supporting new filmmakers and emerging filmmakers, and you’ve got Trop Jr, but there’s a whole cohort of people like me, who have been trying to break into the industry for decades, or who have started late in life. Is there an opportunity to support those people?’ And John said, “I’ll definitely take that on board’,” she tells IF.
After the session, Pickering says she was struck by how many people came up to her to share their experiences of being an older person in the industry and feeling “invisible”.
She reports further positive conversations with Polson, but has since decided to strike out on her own, launching a short film festival aimed at filmmakers over 50.
Submissions for Late Bloomers Fest will open next month ahead of an event in December in Melbourne. To be eligible for the festival, a film must be about people 50+ and made after January this year. The writer and director of the project must be 50+, as do 50 per cent of the crew. International submissions are welcome alongside local films.
“I just feel like there’s a real need for this,” she says.
“For me it was about giving people visibility… if you start your career as an actor, writer, creator, director, in crew, after 50, there’s nothing. There’s no support, there’s no opportunities.”
Pickering hopes to help to break down negative stereotypes about what older people are capable of both on and off screen and spark a conversation about creative longevity. In her experience, ageism is rife in the industry; she says when she graduated drama school at age 30, she was told her career was already over.
She hopes the festival can help connect creatives and crew looking to collaborate, and has been heartened by how many younger people have been supportive of the idea too.
“I believe stories have the power to change the world for the better, and it’s really just empowering people to tell their story,” she says.
“We have such a youth-focused culture, and yet so many magical things happen when you get older. When I hear stories of someone who has just graduated university in their 80s, it just makes my heart sing, because we keep living. I think our stories keep living.”