"Until She Smiles": Joely Engelbert’s Story of Light and Resilience
Some children are born to chase the light, but Joely Engelbert seemed to have it within her from the beginning. Nicknamed "Jojo," she staked her ground in music with singles that crackled with the unmistakably potent energy of young people—half heartache, half rebellion, and all charm. And now that she's turning 18, Joely has set aside the nickname that carried her through adolescence, easing into her full name like someone into a custom-tailored dress. And with it, she's declaring something greater: the start of a new era, not just as a performer, but as an actress and artist who isn't afraid to claim every stage she touches.
That fearlessness is nowhere more apparent than as Clara in What Tomorrow Brings, a film she wrote and directed with her father, Matt Engelbert. The movie is torn from the bone—a searing exploration of sisterhood, of survival, and of the relentless pull of love when pounded by life's worst storms. Joely plays Clara, a young woman fighting with every fiber of her being to protect her little sister Ruby—brought to life tenderly by Joely’s real-life sibling, Phoebe. Together, they create an on-screen chemistry that feels less like acting and more like a glimpse into a sacred bond, the kind of connection that makes the audience believe that light can still break through even the darkest night.
The emotional weight of the story caught up with Joely, but she embraced it for the challenge it was, accepting that the work of art that she brings to this story can generate critical discussion about suicide, mental illness, and the tender resilience which binds families together. Her performance eliminates the notion of a musician "trying" to act; instead, it presents a young woman of native talent and presence beyond argument. Her work already has been rewarded—capturing Best Actress at the Santa Fe Film Festival—testimony that her journey is simply one of rise. Years to come, What Tomorrow Brings will be regarded as the film that launched a stellar career, but viewers now have the thrill of watching her star in the making.
And then there is the music—the Engelberts' second language. To conclude the film, Matt gave another daughter, Zoey, to write "Until She Smiles," a song that is both a conclusion and a reclaiming. Joely sings over Zoey's lyrics, raw and quivering but imbued with passion, in proof of Clara's final triumph: the reclaiming of her voice, her strength, her hope. Every note carries the weight of loss and the comfort of survival, because flashbacks radiate across the screen—moments of love between Ruby and Clara that never permitted darkness to triumph. Once the song is complete its plaintive destruction, one truth remains clear: the past haunts, but it cannot define. The future calls, glows, and Joely Engelbert—a.k.a. Jojo—is already marching toward it.
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