By now, she has already lived quite a few lives. "I have two passports, French and Spanish, and I have spent ten years in Madrid, a bit in the Basque Country, a bit in Ibiza, although most of my life I have spent in Barcelona, where I was born. Before dedicating myself to telling stories in television programs, documentaries, and videos, which is what I do now, I was a fiction and humor scriptwriter, a travel and economy journalist, a flight attendant, a waitress, a sales assistant at Cortefiel and many other things." Ana Montserrat laughs, while at the bar she alternates a glass of white garnacha and a bottle of Vichy, and in the background, she lets Radio 3's programming accompany the conversation.
"Sometimes they call me a cultural popularizer and I am quite focused on Science ---she continues---, but not exclusively. For eight years I directed the scientific program tres14 on La2, and then I opened a small production company, and between good and very good, B23 Films, from which I direct and produce my projects." Among her achievements are the script for the documentary 72h: del 11 M al 14M, the direction of the documentaries Aún nos mantenemos en pie and Efecto fama and having participated in the creation of the format for Aquí la tierra, which won an Ondas in 2017.
A frantic activity ---"in my head there are about ten projects right now, as always"--- to which she adds classes, conferences and talks and, in addition, books like the recently published Soc la Dolors Aleu (Ajuntament de Barcelona), an impressive fictional autobiography that, in the form of a posthumous diary, collects the life, circumstances, beliefs and souls of Dolors Aleu Riera from Barcelona (1875-1913), the first woman to graduate in medicine in Spain and the second to obtain a doctorate, as well as a fervent hygienist and scientific popularizer during her 25-year career.
The work, magnificently edited thanks to the illustrations by Marta Barceló García, brings us closer to an unjustly unknown figure in our history. Things seem to be going further: "I am looking for funding to release a documentary that adapts the book, which we have already shot and is almost finished," announces Ana, among the various creative trenches in which she is battling.
And so on
Naturally prone to getting into trouble, a few years ago the parishioner went to Madrid to do an internship for a screenwriting master's degree, "and that changed everything, because I was going for three weeks and I stayed a decade." There, she says, she learned a lot, worked in a lot of production companies and networks "and I lost a bit of shyness." And, of course, from there she returned with more ideas, with more desire and drive to continue getting into wonderful messes like shooting a short film, Un beso a tres, when the format was not yet fashionable, and winning the Medina Film Festival. "That gave me confidence."
Later, with Desesperado club social, the first program in which she worked as a screenwriter, she won the Ondas award. "The short film and the program encouraged me to believe myself capable and to see my profession as real, despite how wild the labor model of the audiovisual sector is."
In this continuous journey, there were difficult moments, such as a certain horrible job in a morning program, "the only one I would erase from my CV," which she left to go to the Venice Film Festival "to watch movies; many, many movies. Sometimes you have to eat food and other times you have to eat stories."
But where her face truly changes is when she mentions another turning point in one of her many lives: "Having a daughter, of course. That distanced me from my career for a while, but it also completely changed my perspective on life, work, people, characters, stories... everything, except for croquettes, which are part of my recipe for happiness!"
---Croquettes? Happiness? I don't understand...
"Yes, I think I've found a pretty affordable recipe for happiness and, in fact, I want to share it: swim often, eat very specific croquettes, and invest less in bitcoins and more in air conditioning." She laughs again, because whoever knows how to laugh knows how to tell the best stories.
Santa María del Mar, and the sea
When thinking of a magical corner of her hometown, Ana chooses Santa María del Mar. "Everything about it amazes me. There isn't a corner where one can calm down better and think more clearly than in there." And among all the legends and stories the temple treasures, she selects that of the pardoned man as her favorite. "At the entrance of the apse there is a Virgin Mary with her head turned. Legend has it that a young man from Barcelona was unjustly condemned to capital punishment for murder. The procession of the condemned was going down Montcada street towards death. The young man cried and shouted his innocence and, as he passed the basilica, the Virgin turned towards him and looked at him with compassion. The people jumped for joy and the young man was pardoned."
Ana Montserrat argues that "sometimes you have to eat food, and other times you have to eat stories"The parishioner may have liked the Barcelona of before better, "with its pre-Olympic cobblestones, and without the excess of tourists," but there are things from the current one that I wouldn't change for those of yesteryear"In the city back then we didn't have a beach either, and I live by the sea. And, although summer isn't its best moment, there it is, all year round, blue and relaxing," she reflects, taking the last sip of her wine, before stating: "Of course, before, tapas were cheaper and there wasn'thumusin each and every one of the letters from Barcelona's gambling dens."
---Since you bring it up, here we have affordable and delicious tapas, in case you want something to go with your next glass of wine...
---Well, I'm waiting for people, so some portions to share. What do you recommend?
---We have very fresh prawns and a selection of cheeses that will take your breath away.
Ana Montserrat bursts into laughter that spreads among the people in the Bar.
"What aim! ---she replies---. I'm allergic to prawns, because I ate too many, and I hate cheese." And she doesn't stop laughing, while she glances at the menu looking for more appealing alternatives.