Jayro Bustamante

Jayro Bustamante is a film director, producer, and writer. He was born in Guatemala and grew up in a Maya community on the shores of Lake Atitlán, an experience that deeply influenced his storytelling style. Before reaching adulthood, he had to leave his community to attend university. While studying social communication at the University of San Carlos of Guatemala, he worked at Ogilvy & Mather as a director and producer of advertising, where he took his first steps in the audiovisual world.

In 2002, he decided to move to Paris to study film direction at the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français. Later, he continued his studies as a screenwriter in Rome at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografía.

In 2009, he co-founded his own production company in Guatemala, La Casa de Producción, alongside Marina Peralta. Aware that the film industry in Central America was still in its early stages, they expanded the company to include a department for distributing art films, an acting school for film, a talent representation agency, and La Sala de Cine, the first theater dedicated to independent cinema in Guatemala. Along with his team of filmmakers, they mentored young technicians and artists, producing short films that were showcased at international film festivals such as the Toronto Film Festival and Clermont-Ferrand. In 2015, he directed and produced his first feature film, “Ixcanul,” which earned him a Silver Bear at the Berlinale and over 60 awards at international film festivals.

In 2018, he founded his French production company called Les Films Du Volcan to facilitate co-productions between Europe and Latin America. That same year, the French Senate awarded him a Medal of Honor for fostering cultural ties between France and Guatemala. Also in 2018, he established the Ixcanul Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing cultural and educational content to all of Guatemala through cinema. Bustamante also produced and directed his second film, “Temblores,” which premiered at the Berlinale 2019. With this film, he was awarded by the Fondation Gan pour le Cinéma in France and received several international awards.

At the end of 2019, his third film “La Llorona” premiered at the Venice Film Festival, winning the Giornate degli Autori award for Best Director and debuting in America at the Toronto International Film Festival. “La Llorona” was the first Central American film to be nominated for a Golden Globe and to be on the Oscar shortlist. In 2020, he co-produced the second film by Guatemalan filmmaker Sergio Ramírez; “1991,” which premiered at the Miami Film Festival, and the debut feature film by Argentine director Federico Schmukler; “Felipe,” which premiered in the Seville Festival.

In 2021, he formed the first writers’ room in the Central American region, mentoring a group of playwrights towards scriptwriting, and in 2022, he became a member of the American Guild Society. His career has led him to serve as a jury member at several class A film festivals, conduct various masterclasses on the impact of cinema on society, and advocate for the creation of film laws in his country.

In 2021, he directed and produced his fourth film, “Rita,” in co-production with Jonathan King, pending release. In 2022, he directed and produced his fifth film, “Cordillera de Fuego,” currently in post-production. In 2023, he directed the pilot for the series “The Border” for Disney and FX and earlier this year, he was honored as a Knight of the National Order of Merit of France.

Currently, he is simultaneously directing and producing socially impactful advertising campaigns with wide reach. He is also writing a new series titled “The Hacienda” for Apple TV and collaborating with other producers and directors to develop several feature film scripts, documentaries, and series.