Cold Open · Essay · aug 31, 2023

Future Frames: A Conversation With Ashley Röttjers

Elliot first encountered Ashley Rottjers's work at an IDFA Meets event — the short film Celestial Spaces: A Liberation on Meditation Practices — and was struck by its elegance and depth. This Future Frames conversation traces how a Rotterdam-based photographer became a filmmaker, and how a childhood encounter with Charlie's Angels became an unexpected permission slip to pick up the camera and claim her own gaze. Ashley's work is about the body, space, and what it means to be seen — and to decide who does the seeing.

By Elliot Bloom

Film Journalist · Celebrating Cinema

After watching Ashley Röttjers’ short film Celestial Spaces: A Liberation on Meditation Practices at an IDFA Meets event, Elliot was struck by the elegance and depth of Ashley’s work.

Eager to learn more about this Rotterdam-based photographer turned filmmaker, Elliot invited Ashley as a future framemaker to watch for our Future Frames interviews.

In this candid conversation, Ashley shares how watching a film like Charlie’s Angels as a kid prompted her to pick up the camera and capture her life and that of her friends. From art school to fashion photography, Ashley takes us on a journey marked by her various short films. Inspired to speak in perspectives and frames that are reflective of her own experiences, this intriguing filmmaker on the rise is ready to capture the individuality of black women from joy and beauty to healing and sexuality.

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