STRIKE A POSE
by Ester Gould & Reijer Zwaan
SYNOPSIS
In 1990, seven young male dancers – 6 gay, 1 straight – joined Madonna on her most controversial tour. On stage and in the iconic film Truth or Dare they showed the world how to express yourself. Now, 25 years later, they reveal the truth about life during and after the tour. Strike a Pose is a dramatic tale about overcoming shame and finding the courage to be who you are.
DETAILS
83 mins
2016
Netherlands, Belgium
English
TRAILER
CREDITS
Directors: Ester Gould, Reijer Zwaan
Producers: Denis Wigman, Reijer Zwaan, Sander Verdonk, Rosan Boersma, Ester Gould
Co-producer: Ellen de Waele – Serendipity Films
Creative Producer: Thomas den Drijver
Production Companies: CMT Docs, The Other Room
Cinematography: Reinout Steenhuizen
Editing: Dorith Vinken
Sound: Carla van der Meijs
Composer: Bart Westerlaken
BIOGRAPHY
DIRECTOR - 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).
DIRECTOR - REIJER ZWAAN
Born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in 1981, he studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York and then politics in Amsterdam and New York. He is deputy editor-in-chief for 'Nieuwsuur' (Newshour), the main current affairs programme in the Netherlands.
SELECT FESTIVALS
BERLINALE 2016〡TRIBECA 2016〡HOT DOCS 2016〡ATHENS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2016〡CPH:DOX 2016〡BAFICI 2016〡JEONJU 2016〡DOCAVIV 2016〡SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2016〡BIOGRAFILM 2016〡FRAMELINE FILM FESTIVAL 2016〡HELSINKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2016〡FESTIVAL DO RIO 2016〡MILLENNIUM DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY 2016
PRESS
"A perfect love song by Gould and Zwaan to the exceptional men those boys turned out to be."
- The Huffington Post
"A loving, honest portrait of these men who were world-famous for a bright moment, and most importantly, what happens after the limelight goes away."
- Los Angeles Times
"A superb look at the meteoric rise to fame and the eventual plummet that can often follow."
- Awards Watch
"The smartly assembled film makes points that resonate in a world where fame is increasingly ephemeral and life after the celebrity window closes can get awfully cold."
- The Hollywood Reporter
"The filmmakers and performers show great maturity in refusing to settle scores or spill secrets."
- Slant Magazine