ESTER GOULD (1975, Peterculter) is a Scottish-born documentary filmmaker who lives and works in Amsterdam. She studied Film and Journalism in Amsterdam and New York and began her career as a researcher and scriptwriter for acclaimed director Heddy Honigmann. Since 2005 she has been directing her own documentaries and series.
A Strange Love Affair with Ego (2015) - her second feature-length film released in Dutch cinemas - won the IDFA Award for Best Dutch Documentary and the Dutch film critics’ KNF Prize 2016. Strike a Pose (2016; in co-direction with Reijer Zwaan) won an audience award at the Berlinale, was screened in cinemas in the Netherlands, USA and UK and has been shown by film festivals (such as Tribeca Film Festival, IFFR among many others) and broadcasters worldwide.
In 2016, Variety named her one of ten European ‘Female Filmmakers to Watch’.
Her last project - the six-part doc series Debt Society in co-direction with Sarah Sylbing – was a national TV hit, led to public debate and has been nominated for a BANFF Award and an International Emmy. Recently they were announced Dutch ‘Journalists of the Year’. Debt Society also won the award for Best Series (Dutch Directors Guild) and Best Documentary Program (TV Beelden).
In this session, we will also welcome by live chat one of Madonna's backup dancers from 'Strike a Pose'.
#EsterGould #StrikeAPose #Madonna #ExpressYourself #VarietyEuropeanFemaleFilmmakerToWatch
In our Official Selection:
WE WAR
Sophie van de Pol, Dieuwke de Mooij | 04:23 | Fiction * PREMIERE *
Sarah, a spirited young lady who works as a spy for the Dutch Resistance during World War II, scarcely manages to escape from a prison camp. When she arrives home, she is forced to choose between duty and love.
VIGOR
Philip Besamusca | 15:00 | Fiction
Bram (10 years) steals a small boat, puts wheels under it and travels towards the sea. The man that helps him reach an old shipwreck turns out to be more than a casual passerby and saying farewell proves difficult for both.
GOLDEN OLDIES
Daan Velsink, Joost Lieuwma | 03:00 | Animation
In a typical fifties diner, a gangly teenager tries to rock'n'roll with the prettiest girl on the dance floor but is opposed by an importunate cool dude and a stammering jukebox.