Zoe Pepper’s Birthright premiering in cinemas 21 May

Western Australian writer/director Zoe Pepper (Lift, The Big Spaghetti) is set to premiere her debut feature, Birthright in cinemas across Australia on Thursday, 21 May.

Produced by Cody Greenwood (Otto by Otto, Under the Volcano, Girl Like You) of Rush Films, Birthright is a darkly twisted thriller comedy about a disillusioned generation and their chase for the success of their baby boomer parents.  

Birthright stars Travis Jeffery (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Unbroken, Gallipoli) and Maria Angelico (The Newsreader, Strife, Sisters) together with Linda Cropper (Offspring, Upgrade) and Michael Hurst (Hercules, Spartacus). The film made its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

Screenwest caught up with Zoe to ask her 10 questions ahead of her film’s theatrical release.

Zoe, Birthright premieres in cinemas two weeks! How does it feel?

I’m pumped for the release. I’m so glad we’re getting a shot in cinemas. The season kicks off with a Q&A tour around the country, which should be fun. Seeing this film with a big crowd is where it’s at. City to city I’ve found – the bigger the housing stress, the harder they laugh.

Birthright has screened for WA audiences at CinefestOZ and earlier this year at Perth Festival – what was it like seeing a home crowd watch your film?

So many people turned out to see Birthright at Sommerville and Cinefest, there’s been such incredible support for the film. These audiences were an older crowd than we’d played to at festivals – the film hits differently when there’s a generational mix in the audience.

I’m excited to screen at Luna Cinemas, there’s something special about playing at Luna for WA filmmakers – to have your film screen at your go-to cinema.

You’ve written, director and devised work for the stage – how has working in theatre shaped your sensibility and approach to directing for the screen?

You get to churn out a lot of long-form work in theatre from the earliest point in your career, in a way that’s just not possible in film. This creates the space to experiment and figure out what does and doesn’t work. My time in theatre really let me discover a tone and hone it.

The move from stage to screen was a big jump and I’m still learning a lot. I can’t wait to make another film and build on what I learnt making Birthright.

Can you tell us about some of the influences for Birthright? Where did the concept stem from and were there any existing works that you took inspiration from?

It was the beginning of the pandemic and a lot of friends my age were moving back home with their parents. Watching from the outside, I’d see what was intended as a short stay, turn into long stay. I became curious about the power dynamic that was playing out under the one roof. I started writing a version of what would become Birthright and it became apparent that this power struggle within a family was a great metaphor for what is playing out in Australia at large.

I heard a lecture by the Australian economist Satyajit Das who shifted my thinking. He likened Australia’s baby boomer generation to Saturn in Goya’s painting ‘Saturn Devouring his Son’. You might know the story: Saturn was told that one of his sons would overthrow him and so he ate his own children at birth so the prophecy couldn’t come true. I found this to be an incredibly visceral description of a generation so unwilling to let go of their wealth and power that they are effectively crippling the economy.

Can you tell us about shooting Birthright in the Perth Hills?

Ninety percent of the film was shot in this incredible house up in Darlington. The Darlington community were super supportive of the shoot, I’m very grateful for their generosity in helping us out of a bind on many occasions.

Tell us about the people that helped bring your vision to life – what was it like working with Birthright’s talented WA HODs?

The crew were amazing, they worked incredibly hard to bring Birthright to life. The weather was not kind to us, so I’m very grateful that everyone gritted it out and did such an exceptional job. It is a surreal thing having such a big team of talented people working to bring a script you wrote to life.

All the HOD’s were so committed to making Birthright the best it could be.

It was my first time working with Mick McDermott (DP). Mick will move mountains to hustle the crew and ‘get the shot’, he’s got a great can-do energy which is such an asset on set.

Where else in Western Australia would you love to shoot and why?

I grew up in Denmark so I would love to shoot something down there and lean into the types of landscapes that we don’t usually see on screen.

Who are your career idols?

Paul Thomas Anderson, Ruben Östlund and Kristoffer Borgli are some of my favourite directors. There’s a tonal thru-line with these hot faves – they all make films that are smart and deeply human and funny. I absolutely gravitate towards filmmakers who use levity and playfulness as a storytelling tool.

What have you been watching recently?

I watched Alphabet Lane last night, the first feature from writer-director James Litchfield. It’s great! I love the creativity of the concept, about a couple who have a running a joke about a fictional friend that gets out of hand.

You were recently selected to participate in Australians in Film and Screen Australia’s Talent Gateway program. Congratulations! Can you tell us what else you’ve been working on?

I’m working on an anarchic ‘eat the rich’ themed comedy/thriller called Greater Good.

Birthright premieres in Australian cinemas on Thursday, 21 May. Zoe will be participating in a Q&A screening at Luna Leederville on Tuesday, 19 May – tickets available here.

Production credit: Birthright is a Rush Films production. Major production investment from Screen Australia in association with Screenwest and Lotterywest. Local distribution by Madman Entertainment. Post, digital and visual effects supported by Sandbox Productions. Developed with the assistance of Screenwest and Lotterywest.

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