Named by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the "25 New Faces in Filmmaking", Zoë Poledouris is rapidly making a name for herself in the film world as a fresh, versatile actor with a striking screen presence. With leading roles in two feature films, Zoë is adding to the creative repertoire she has been building since childhood, when she had her first on-screen credit: as a film composer for a melody in Conan The Barbarian, thus becoming one of the youngest members of BMI. Her musical talent is clearly inherited from her father, veteran film composer Basil Poledouris, who has collaborated professionally with his eldest daughter on a number of compositions, including John Waters' recent film Cecil B. Demented.
Zoë was seen in front of the camera in the lead role in Robert Saitzyk's White of Winter, portraying Rachel, a young woman in search of a lost child that may exist only in her own mind. The film, for which Zoë also created the original score, was an official selection of the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and screened in the American Spectrum.
Returning to a milieu familiar to her as a musician and singer, Zoë stars in the new Kurt Voss film, Down & Out with the Dolls. Shot on location in Portland, Oregon, the film offers a hilariously authentic look at the rise and fall of an all-girl rock band, with Zoë playing Fauna, the lead singer and resident diva. Voss, who frequently collaborates with filmmaker Allison Anders, cast actual musicians in the other roles as well, with Zoë reprising her role as film composer and writer of the songs performed by the on-screen band. Zoë's ability to don various personas has no doubt been honed by her real-life experiences as a lead singer in various bands, including the all-girl punk band Table Grade, and other groups such as Doppler and Bombshell. Although she has made a number of appearances on screen in music videos for the likes of The Smashing Pumpkins and a cameo as a singer performing her own songs in Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers, the opportunities now coming her way to act in feature films provide the ideal showcase for Zoë to display her creativity front and center.
Indican Pictures
