Rotterdam Lab

Ester Gould

Ester Gould is co-owner of The Other Room and one of the Netherlands' most prominent directors. After her master's degree in film and television studies (University of Amsterdam/Tisch School of the Arts, New York), she learned documentary practice from Heddy Honigmann and worked as her researcher, first assistant and line producer for many years. She was also the (co-)scriptwriter of various documentaries. In 2015 she won the IDFA Award for Best Dutch Documentary with her feature-length documentary A Strange Love Affair With Ego and received the Documentary Stipend from the Prince Bernard Culture Fund. In 2016 she co-directed and co-produced the festival hit Strike a Pose (screened worldwide at festivals and by Netflix) and was named one of Europe's “Female Filmmakers to Watch” by Variety. Together with Sarah Sylbing she directed and produced a diptych about Dutch poverty (50 Cents and Cathleen’s Turn) and stood at the cradle of the award-winning documentary series Debt Society (winner a.o. of the Silver Nipkow disk, Journalist of the Year) and the TV hit series Class, for which they developed their own production model. She also produced several successful impact productions through the partnership Sylbing & Gould. Ester has considerable experience in teaching and coaching documentary makers (e.g., IDFAcademy & NPO Fund Workshop, Kids & Docs Workshop, St. Joost Academy of Art and Design, Dutch Film Academy).

The Other Room – The Netherlands

In 2014, Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan founded their production company The Other Room. Their creative collaboration immediately paid off with the co-direction and co-production of the internationally successful documentary Strike a Pose (2016), which premiered at the Berlinale and was screened worldwide in movie theaters, at festivals and by Netflix. In 2020 they decided to further develop their ambition and impact as film and television producers. The Other Room produces with a great deal of experience in and love for documentary and selectively chooses films and series that can resonate at home and abroad. These high-profile productions encourage reflection on the issues of our time.

Projects in development 

Flushing by Ester Gould (Documentary feature)
What No One Sees by Mea Dols de Jong (Documentary series)

Released films

Strike A Pose by Ester Gould & Reijer Zwaan, 2016 (Documentary feature)

 

Ester Gould