Ash Verwiel is a trans & queer filmmaker from the Netherlands, currently operating from San Francisco. He recently received his BA in Cinema from San Francisco State University, where he works as an audiovisual engineer. His often reflexive work focuses on documentary and experimental film that attempts to traverse obscurities of the human condition, in order to reshape frameworks created by the mind.

SFSU’s Queer Cinema Project supports creators of LGBTQ+ film through the annual Barbara Hammer Award, which Ash won in 2019. Recently circulating the queer festival circuit, Heart Whispers (2020), explores his journey through adolescence, developing his own voice and struggling to belong as a trans man. Verwiel often excavates such topics of identity, rebirth and self-alignment.

In May of 2021, Ash was granted the Marcus Culminating Funds by SFSU, towards completion & distribution of his next film – coming soon.