Directed by is an experimental short film, showing a collection of erotic, surrealistic and humorous self-portraits.
In Spring 2022, Chiara Pastoor premiered her first short film: Directed by.
Chiara takes agency of her body and sexuality and indulges in self-pleasure. Reclaiming the power as both the director and the woman in the image, therefore redefining self-portraits within the notions of the male, female and internalised male gaze.
She began creating self-portraits in 2018, after recovering from Lyme disease and grieving the sudden loss of a sibling a year prior. Photographing and filming herself nude and erotically started as an attempt to break through the dissociation she had experienced towards her body and any feelings of sexual pleasure.
Self-portraiture became the tool to reconnect and heal the relationship with her body, intimacy and sexuality.
