2016-04-17

Ester Gould

Ester Gould (1975) – Scottish-born documentary filmmaker based in Amsterdam. She studied Film and Journalism and began her career as a researcher and scriptwriter for acclaimed director Heddy Honigmann. Since 2005 she has been directing her own documentaries.  Recurring themes are identity and coming-of-age. Her first feature documentary Shout (2010), jointly directed with Sabine Lubbe Bakker and shot in Syria and Israel, won the prize for Best Film at the London International Documentary Film Festival in 2010. In 2013 she co-directed Tough Cookies, a series about young caregivers which won the Rockie Award for Best Children’s Non-Fiction at BANFF 2014 and the Jury Prize at Cinekid. A Strange Love Affair with Ego (2015) is her second feature-length documentary. Premiering at last November’s IDFA, the film won the award for Best Dutch Documentary and an EDA Award for best female-directed film. Her latest documentary Strike a Pose (2016) – in co-direction with Reijer Zwaan – just recently had its world premiere at the Berlinale’s Panorama where it won the second audience award.