Poppy Starr Olsen, Australia’s number one Park Skateboarder and first Australian female skateboarder to be invited to compete in the X Games only at the age of 16, has been making history for quite some time now and continues to do so. While she is preparing to represent Australia in the Tokyo Olympics, the first and only female Park Skateboarder to do so, she announced “Tall Poppy – A Skater’s Story”, a documentary that follows Poppy’s journey over the past 12 years. This coming of age story documents her life intimately as she navigates the uncomfortable idea of what it means to be a competitive athlete, the complexities of a relationship with a mum turned manager and finding her place in a male-dominated industry.
We spoke with Poppy and Justine Moyle, director of the film about what this film means for them, the biggest challenges, Poppy’s favourite thing about skating and more.
Interview by Denia Kopita
Poppy and Justine, thank you so much for chatting with me! I’m so excited to watch this documentary! Justine, 12 years sure is a long time…What did you see in Poppy that made you wanna start working on this project and continued to do so for so many years?
J: When I met Poppy she was this young 13 year old kid dropping in the deep end of Bondi’s famous bowl and airing out way over the coping with such ease and grace. She wasn’t fazed by people watching or the countless men and boys surrounding her – she just did her thing and did it till the sun went down. I was so insecure at that age, always wondering what other people thought of me and I guess for lack of a better way of expressing it I wasn’t keen to take up space. So watching this young girl take up space and not try to make herself small like I used to do – that was inspiring to me. And it wasn’t that she was beating her chest and letting everyone know how good she was, she was just doing her thing and not apologising for it. So that’s how it started! From there I wanted to make a short film on Poppy – making short docos was what I was doing at the time on the side of working freelance in advertising. The short film never got made… after Pops won the Combi Girls Pool classic in 2016 then with the Olympic announcement it just seemed like a no brainer to follow that story, and here we are in 2021 on the precipice of the Tokyo games and a feature film made.
Poppy, there’s a bit less than a month till The Olympics. How do you feel about competing in them? When you started skating, did you ever imagine you would one day do that?
P: It’s crazy to think that I’ll be competing in the Olympics pretty soon. I have no idea what to expect especially with COVID right now, but it’s going to be a very exciting experience I’m sure! When I first started skating I don’t think I ever thought it would lead me here. I don’t think I had any idea where it would take me I just remember how fun it was!
Do you remember the first time you stepped on a board? What did it feel like?
P: I first stepped on a skateboard when I was 8. My neighbour was walking with my family at the time and he let me have a go of his board. It was a long time ago but I remember as soon as I got on I was hooked pretty much and having so much fun. He saw how much I loved it so he ended up giving me his board and that was the start of it all!
That was super sweet of him. Going back on the documentary, Justine – what were you trying to achieve by making this film, and do you feel like you achieved that?
J: I wanted to make a film that was authentic to the characters, engaging and entertaining to audiences and a story that inspires the audience. So far that’s what people are taking away from it and I am humbled and excited by that. I knew people would fall in love with Poppy and her family. I hoped by the end of the film that the audience would be on Poppy’s side, win lose or draw. Ultimately it’s a coming of age story set against the backdrop of skateboarding so simply telling the story from a girls point of view with female filmmakers behind it meant that we were hearing a story that’s not often told. And in this case never been told before. While there’s been a push for female led stories we are still up against stereotypes that for girls and boys are not helpful. I definitely feel that we have achieved telling that story in a real human way.
How was it working with Poppy?
J: I’ve known Poppy for so many years now, it’s funny, I don’t think of it as working with her. She’s always been a delightful, funny and kind human who always thinks of others first. She has always wanted to bring all the other girls up with her – she’s never been one to pump her fists when she’s won but she puts her arms around the others on the podium. It’s never I, its always we. Its what makes her so well liked in the industry. It’s also what makes it hard at times to film or interview her – Poppy is naturally quite shy so the only challenge would be that she doesn’t like talking about herself or talking herself up!
Poppy does hold her cards close to her chest so that was challenging sometimes for me as a director – to find a way to get that across on screen and still have the audience connect with her. At times I am sure she was sick of me and the film – it was such a long process that for any young person they would be wondering when is this ever going to get finished. I was starting to wonder myself! It was something she signed on to as a kid so when she was 18 I asked her again if she wanted to continue to make the film – thankfully she said yes but I felt it was important she was invested in it and that changed our relationship again. She’s been across the edits of the film and it was extremely important to me that she was happy with the end result.
Poppy, what would you say were the biggest challenges filming this documentary?
P: One of them would definitely be having a camera around a lot of the time and trying to pretend that its not there! I’m not really one that likes to be in front of camera or talk about myself, (laughs) so that got a little tricky. This also made it hard to talk about feelings and thoughts a lot of the time as I was going through them. I’m so happy it all payed off though, its something I will be able to have forever and look back on a when I’m old. I’m so lucky to be able to look back on such a chaotic beautiful stage of my life.
What about you Justine, what were the biggest challenges for you?
J: There were a tonne of challenges over the years. Funding being one of the two biggest ones. There was lots of interest – everyone said it was a no brainer but finding someone to back it financially was HARD. Also I was a first time director so that had its challenges. We did get development funding in 2017 and that helped but in between that it was a labour of love and passion from a few key individuals beside myself. So it was making it work around freelance and paid gigs and also Poppy’s schedule. We couldn’t afford to travel to loads of destinations so Poppy recorded video diaries which really helped us too. We got just enough post production funding – that’s money to turn the years of footage into an actual film early this year and then had a very short turn around to get the film made. That was the biggest challenge! I am so grateful we got the backers in the end – it was just a lot to accomplish in a short time frame. So the past 7 months has been a huge challenge but worth every minute of it.
Justine, what does this film mean to you?
J: Gosh… Where to start! It means everything to me. I guess that version of myself.. the young one that felt insecure & unconfident for many years, it’s been a journey for me to take up space and to say, you know what I have a point of view in the world and it IS worth telling and adds value to the world. I am at that stage now because of making this film – this is my first feature documentary – so it’s a big milestone and instead of feeling small I feel like I am standing tall and owning space for the first time. Poppy and Thomas (Poppy’s mum) are incredible women who have done extraordinary things. We all are. I love that that’s what this film celebrates. I love the ordinary extraordinary and it’s what I have been always drawn too in storytelling. While Poppy’s story is unique it’s also universal, battling the demons in our minds, the pressure we put on ourselves to succeed and finding who we are and what we want to be in the world. And for women this is a different narrative to one that has been told before.
Any cool “backstage” stories?
J: I know I had a lot of laughs over the years with Poppy and her family its hard to recall specific stories though. The Olsen family are so much fun and I was lucky to have such a welcoming family who enjoyed being a part of the story and gave me so much access. When working closely with people, you do become close and I feel like they are extended family to me now – hopefully they feel the same. One my favourite scenes in the film is her dad’s Halloween party- we had to cut that scene down due to timing but if I could have kept the whole 5 minutes of it I would have, so much laughter, joy and Poppy’s quiet cheekiness coming to the forefront.
Last question for you Poppy – what is your favourite thing about skateboarding?
P: My favourite thing about skateboarding I think is that it is whatever you want it to be, there aren’t any rules. Everyone is so unique and can express themselves through skateboarding how ever they please! Its so nice meeting so many beautiful people too and really feeling apart of a community.
This is so true and so important. Thank you. Anything else you would like to add Justine?
J: I am excited to share Poppy’s story with the world and I think it will resonate with people of all ages, skaters and non-skaters, male, female and everything in between. I think it has something for everyone. The skateboard world is so interesting and we get to sneak behind the curtain of that world thanks to a young girl from Bondi who had the guts to drop in the deep end of the bowl when she was only 8 years old. And while that in and of itself is interesting, beyond that it’s a very real human story about what it’s like to be a girl growing up in the world today. And that, that story is precious and has so much value for now and the future.
Thank you so much both and best of luck in The Olympics Popps!
Watch now on iTunes HERE
Also available outside Australia on Vimeo On Demand in multiple languages HERE
Follow Poppy @poppystarr
Follow Justine @justine_in_film
