Maria Ripoll  is an award-winning Spanish film director with an international background and outlook.  She is currently the highest-grossing female film director in Spanish history, with more than a dozen feature films to her credit.

Maria studied at the American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles.  Her short film, KILL ME LATER, won the First Prize in the Oberhausen Film Festival and the Panavision Grant at the Houston Film Festival. She then directed her first feature-length film, TWICE UPON A YESTERDAY or IF ONLY , starring Lena Headey, Douglas Henshall and Penelope Cruz. The film won Best Screenplay at the Montreal Film Festival, the Audience Award at the Sitges Film Festival, the Seattle Women’s Film Festival and led to Maria being nominated for a Goya (Spain’s Oscars) for Best New Director.

After this, Maria directed TORTILLA SOUP in Los Angeles starring Hector Elizondo, Jacqueline Obradors, Raquel Welch and Elizabeth Peña. It was produced by Samuel Goldwyn Jr and was a noted success, breaking Latin American stereotypes on it’s way to nine nominations at the ALMA Awards.  She then directed WITNESS, a documentary shot in New York for Canal Plus.

Returning to Spain, Maria shot the thriller feature film UTOPIA, which was a top choice with critics and the public alike. In Barcelona she then directed YOUR LIFE IN 65’, based on the play by Albert Espinosa. “65” was invited to numerous festivals, including the AFI Los Angeles Film Festival and the Stockholm International Film Festival and was another success in Spain. For Spanish television Maria directed FAME, EVERYTHING FOR A DREAM for TVE and then turned to producing as well as directing with CHROMOSOME 5, a touching documentary for TVE. The film was very well received in Spain and around the world, garnering many awards.