Telling the Story of a World Icon

“FRIDA” had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2024 making this Carla Gutiérrez director debut. Through this documentary, Gutiérrez and her crew use Frida Kahlo’s writings to tell Frida’s story from her diaries, letters, essays, and interviews.

Instead of using historians and contemporary voices, Gutiérrez wanted to ensure they were using voices from people close to Frida, such as her first boyfriend and the nurse who was with Frida in her last days.

“From the beginning, we wanted to have Frida tell her own story…and that the film was really focused on her voice,” said Gutiérrez. “We wanted to really to use the art as a narrative device.”

Along with the words of Frida herself, the documentary uses lyrical animation inspired by Frida’s artwork.

Gutiérrez said they wanted to use “her art in a way that the art would be a way into her heart. It would be a way into listening to her thoughts.”

Victor Hernández Stumpfhauser was the composer of the documentary, and he said it took a lot of discussions and planning to figure out what would truly work to tell the story of Frida.

He said it was all about trial and error, which can be a great way to grow.

“Failure is kind of a harsh word, but it helps you discard certain things and eventually something comes out,” said Stumpfhauser.

FRIDA is expected to be released on March 14, 2024.

Check out our video interviews from Sundance Film Festival 2024 here.