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Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter and surrealist artist who is known for her self-portraits. The artist has continued to be a talking point among people long after her demise. Her life was portrayed in a 2002 film called Frida.
Recently, Carla Gutiérrez made a documentary film on Kahlo's life, and her work has garnered an award for outstanding direction in documentary at the 2025 News & Documentary Emmy Awards.
The documentary examines the life of Kahlo, who has become a part of Mexican popular culture. So let us get into the details of the film and the recognition it received.
Carla Gutiérrez gets award for her documentary on Frida Kahlo
Carla Gutiérrz recently received the Outstanding Direction Award at the 2025 News & Documentary Emmy Awards. She received recognition for her documentary film Frida, which is based on the life of Kahlo. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and was subsequently released in March 2024 on Amazon Prime Video. It focuses on Kahlo's art and the pain she suffered throughout her life, which stemmed from a bus accident she experienced at the age of 18.
In her award acceptance speech, Gutiérrez said:
“I’ve been reflecting a lot on what it means to release pain the way that Frida did through her art. I’m learning that a heart that is broken is also broken open. This process of contemplating her own sorrow and expressing it out loud is not without devastating despair, but it’s also how you know that you’re living a full life.”
She added,
“It’s the process of finding courage from our broken parts, especially when we’re dealing with so much injustice in the world right now. I think this is what our film is about — finding courage from the broken pieces and keeping our heart open.”
The makers have Kahlo talking about her life and her art (voice has been lent by Fernanda Echevarría del Rivero). In the film, Gutiérrez collaborated with animators and artists from Mexico to give life to images mentioned in Kahlo's diary. Gutiérrez mostly picked female animators for the job.
In a 2024 interview with NJ Advance Media, the director said,
“When we started doing the research and we actually got (Kahlo’s) writings, it was really obvious that she really wanted to tell her own story and we really allowed her to take it over. So the film ended up being most of her voice. It was an exciting, exciting thing to see in the process of editing.”
Speaking about Kahlo's self-portrait, Gutierrez said:
“Even though they’re self-portraits and it’s her face, she’s really looking inwards. She is telling herself and telling the world, in a way, that what’s happening internally, it’s important to talk about."
Frida is Gutiérrez's directorial debut, who earlier worked as an editor. Prior to this, the artist's life was adapted into a 2002 biographical drama film where Salma Hayek played the titular role. Frida Kahlo passed away at the age of 47 in Coyoacán, Mexico City.
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