Ana Bustamante

The aim of “Michèle” is to recover and interpret the life trajectory of Michèle Firk. It is a film-search, but also a film-reflection that compares the figure of Michèle with that of Ana Bustamante. Es una película-búsqueda, pero también una película-reflexión, en la que a través del contraste entre la figura de Michèle y la de Ana Bustamante.

Synopsis
In September 1968, a French woman shoots herself in the head when the police knock on her door in a residential neighbourhood of Guatemala City. A search of the house turns up identity papers of various nationalities and names, but always with the same face, that of Michèle Firk. How did someone as well-known as Michèle Firk come to join the Guatemalan guerilla movement and turn her back on her brilliant career as a filmmaker?

In 2022, Ana Bustamante decides to embark on a journey of discovery, using Michèle's life as a guide to understand the spirit of that generation and compare it with her own. A generation that has grown up in a world that is more or less the same as the one Michèle wanted to change. Ana wonders what remains of those revolutionary utopias today.

Ana Bustamante wants to compare the generations. Both spent their childhoods in hiding, both studied journalism and then film. Both dreamed of bringing about change, but in different ways: Michèle, by giving up film and joining the revolution and, Ana, by distancing herself from that revolution and using film as a means of expression.

Bio
Ana Bustamante (Guatemala, 1982) studied Communication Sciences in Guatemala and Editing at the ECAM (Madrid). She produces and edits films, music videos and commercials. Her first feature documentary, Asphyxia, (2018) has won several awards at different festivals including Guadalajara, Panama and BAFICI in Argentina.

Residencia
Ana Bustamante (Guatemala, 1982) studied Communication Sciences in Guatemala and Editing at the ECAM (Madrid). She produces and edits films, music videos and commercials. Her first feature documentary, Asphyxia, (2018) has won several awards at different festivals including Guadalajara, Panama and BAFICI in Argentina.