First images surface from Perfume, a documentary about guitarist Maria Gabriela Epumer

The first images have surfaced from Perfume, a documentary about Argentine guitarist Maria Gabriela Epumer, built entirely from about 50 hours of footage she filmed herself between 1995 and 2003. The film premiered privately on August 1, the day she would have turned 63, for a small group of friends, family and colleagues of "Mapu," Epumer's nickname.

Directed by Lucia Ruiz, Perfume is a co-production between Argentina and Uruguay, funded by 340 individual backers. Its synopsis describes Epumer as an innovative musician who created and played rock through the 1980s and 90s as a member of Viuda e Hijas de Roque Enroll, as a guitarist for Charly Garcia, and as a solo artist; 20 years after her early death, the film draws on footage of packed concerts alongside intimate moments in recording studios and at home.

The early clips released so far show Epumer in the studio, playing guitar against northern Argentine landscapes, and sharing her personality directly with the camera.

Epumer's siblings, who provided the previously unreleased footage, said in a statement that they had long owed her this kind of project, having considered and rejected making a more conventional biography filtered through their own perspective. "We decided that Maria Gabriela would tell us who she is, how she is, what interests her, what doesn't," they said. "All of that is in the film because these are videos she recorded or had herself filmed in."

Rather than follow the conventions of the biopic genre, Perfume aims for an intimate journey narrated through Epumer's own view of the world rather than an outside interpretation of her life. The film is set for a cinema release in November.