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ABOUT ME

CHARLOTTE KOENKA

My Journey

At sixteen, my father gifted me an old OM 10 and taught me the basics of portrait photography. As a shy teen, I found comfort in wider angles, allowing me to observe my peers from a safe distance.

Soon, I was documenting everything, quietly participating while absorbing my surroundings. Years later, while working in the Dutch creative industry, I continued photographing my friends and their lives.

The Transition to Filmmaking

​​Filmmaking started with a suggestion from a close friend. Brendan, curious about how I would handle narrative storytelling, teased, “Make a film about me.”​I shot the first scene just days before lockdown.

The documentary was anything but straightforward. Over two years, I uncovered uncomfortable truths and strayed from the expected narrative.

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Door Inside, the story of Brendan, the cellist, evolved into raw conversations about emotional struggle, pain, and loss. We drifted apart. And in that raw reality, I found my identity as a filmmaker.

Charlotte Koenka, documentary filmmaker, self-portrait
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