Oldenburg Film Festival to Honour Stunt Legend Zoë Bell with Career Tribute

The Oldenburg Film Festival will honour New Zealand-born actress and stuntwoman Zoë Bell with a career retrospective at its 33rd edition, running 16–20 September in Germany. Bell will attend in person to present a selection of her films, including Death Proof, Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, Angel of Death, and the documentary Double Dare. (The Hollywood Reporter)

The festival's tribute traces a career that began in the late 1990s, when Bell served as the stunt double for Lucy Lawless on the television series Xena: Warrior Princess (1995–2001). Quentin Tarantino then cast her as Uma Thurman's double on Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), a pairing that turned into one of the most enduring director-performer collaborations in modern action cinema.

Tarantino has called Bell "the greatest stuntwoman in the world" and described her as a friend "like a sister." He handed her a first leading role — playing a version of herself, opposite Kurt Russell, in Death Proof (2007). She went on to appear in Django Unchained (2012), The Hateful Eight (2015), and Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (2019), in which she played stunt coordinator Janet Miller. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Bell never stopped doing the physical work that made her name. Her stunt credits include Iron Man 3 (2013) and Thor: Ragnarok (2017). As an actress, she played roller-derby star "Bloody Holly" in Drew Barrymore's Whip It (2009), the assassin Eve in the web series Angel of Death (2009), and Scorpion in James Wan's Malignant (2021). She is a four-time winner of the Taurus World Stunt Awards, the field's premier recognition. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Double Dare, also screening at Oldenburg, is Amanda Micheli's 2004 documentary that follows Bell and veteran stuntwoman Jeannie Epper across two generations of the profession. The film captured Bell on the cusp of her Hollywood break, just as she was transitioning from New Zealand television to the Kill Bill set.

The Oldenburg honour lands at a moment when stunt work is finally receiving institutional recognition at the top of the industry. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has confirmed that the 100th Academy Awards in 2027 will include a new competitive category: Achievement in Stunt Design. For a performer whose career spans the entire arc from television doubling to Marvel-scale action, the timing gives the tribute an extra charge.

The 33rd Oldenburg Film Festival runs 16–20 September. Bell will present her films in person across the five-day programme.