María Ripoll i Julià (born 1963)[1] is a Spanish film director from Barcelona, with an international background and eight feature films to her credit. The success of her film It's Now or Never has placed her as the highest-grossing female film director in Spanish history.[2][3]

María Ripoll
Born
Maria Ripoll Julià

1963 (age 60–61)
Barcelona, Spain
OccupationDirector

Early life and career beginnings

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Born in Barcelona,[1] Ripoll studied screenwriting in Los Angeles at the American Film Institute (AFI),[4] where she shot the short film Kill Me Later.

Directing career

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Maria Ripoll - Spanish film director

Her first feature-length film, The Man with Rain in His Shoes[5] starring Lena Headey, Douglas Henshall and Penélope Cruz won Best Screenplay at the Montreal World Film Festival, the Audience Award[6] at the Sitges Film Festival, the Seattle Women’s Film Festival. It led to Ripoll being nominated for a Goya Award for Best New Director.[7]

She then directed Tortilla Soup[8] in Los Angeles starring Hector Elizondo, Jacqueline Obradors, Raquel Welch and Elizabeth Peña. Produced by Samuel Goldwyn Jr, it was a noted success, breaking Latin American stereotypes on its way to nine nominations at the ALMA Awards.[9] She then shot a documentary in New York, WITNESS: Cameras Against Violence, for Canal Plus.[10][11]

On her return to Spain, Ripoll shot her third feature film Utopia, which enters the terrain of the fantastic thriller and premiered in 2003. In Barcelona she then directed Your Life in 65, a film based on the play by Albert Espinosa. This film was invited to numerous festivals, including the AFI Los Angeles Film Festival and the Stockholm International Film Festival and was another success in Spain.[12] For Televisión Española (TVE) she directed Fame, Everything for a Dream and then turned to producing as well as directing Chromosome 5, a documentary for TVE.[13][14] It was well received in Spain [15] and around the world, earning Best Picture in the Bosifest-Belgrade film festival amongst others.[16][17]

In 2014 she directed the indie drama Traces of Sandalwood [18] starring Aina Clotet, a film shot in Mumbai and Barcelona in Hindi, English and Catalan. The film won the Gaudí Award in 2014 for best film[19] and the Audience Award at the Montreal [20] and Cinequest Festivals.

Her next film, It's Now or Never premiered in June 2015. This romantic comedy starring Dani Rovira, Maria Valverde and Clara Lago was a summer blockbuster and turned Ripoll into Spain’s most successful and highest-grossing female film director in Spanish history.[21][22] The film has been screened at the Montreal, Toronto and Miami Films Festivals.

Her most recent film, the romantic comedy Don't Blame the Karma for Being an Idiot starring Verónica Echegui and Álex García, was based on the best-selling book with the same name. It premiered in November 2016, reaching number 1 in Spain during its second week[23] and screening at the Miami Film Festival in March 2017.[24][25]

Selected filmography

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Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Result Work Ref.
2000
14th Goya Awards Best New Director The Man with Rain in His Shoes Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b "Índice de directores". Directores de cine en Cataluña. De la A a la Z. Universitat de Barcelona. Edicions.
  2. ^ Carlos Prieto (30 July 2015). "The Miracle of María Ripoll, the highest grossing female filmmaker in the history of our cinema". El Confidencial. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  3. ^ Zurro, Javier (9 November 2016). "Maria Ripoll, the most profitable female director in spanish film history". El Español. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Maria Ripoll Biography". abc.es. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  5. ^ Holden, Steven. "Daydream Or a Chance, With Echoes Of Bunuel". New York Times. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  6. ^ Romero, Ana (30 August 1998). "Warm welcome in Montreal for the film by María Ripoll". El PAIS. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  7. ^ "GOYA AWARDS 2000". Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  8. ^ Thomas, Kevin (24 August 2001). "'Tortilla Soup' Adjusts a Recipe". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  9. ^ ALMA AWARDS OFFICIAL WEB. "AlMA AWARDS NOMINATIONS AND WINNERS 2002" (PDF). Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  10. ^ EL PAIS - Spanish National Press (24 September 2002). "Social Documentary Series shown on Canal +". El País.
  11. ^ SECUOYA. "Presentation of the different Episodes of Social Documentary Series "Valor Humano"".
  12. ^ Fotogramas (29 May 2008). "Film Critique".
  13. ^ "documentary". RTVE. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  14. ^ "WEBDOC". RTVE. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  15. ^ Cine Maldito. "film critique". Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  16. ^ BOSIFEST - BELGRADE. "BEST PICTURE 2013".
  17. ^ promofest.org. "Award List of Cromosome 5". Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  18. ^ Scheib, Ronnie (23 November 2014). "East meets West, art encounters science and Bollywood's Nandita Das confronts Spain's Aina Clotet in María Ripoll's sibling saga". Variety. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  19. ^ "Best Film Traces of Sandalwood". RTVE- spanish national television. February 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  20. ^ "Public Awards for the most popular film of the Festival". Film Festival Montreal. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  21. ^ Carlos Prieto (30 July 2015). "The Miracle of María Ripoll, the highest grossing female filmmaker in the history of our cinema". El Confidencial. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  22. ^ Zurro, Javier (9 November 2016). "Maria Ripoll, the most profitable female director in Spanish film history". El Español. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  23. ^ Olga Pereda (14 November 2016). "Triumphal first weekend". El Periodico (Spanish National Newspaper). Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  24. ^ Miami Film Festival - official Site. "screening schedule". Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  25. ^ Roger Egbert - Film Reviews. "Film Review and Sinopsis". Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  26. ^ Soler, Susana (7 March 2024). "María Ripoll: "La comedia está muy mal valorada en este país"". Málaga Hoy. Grupo Joly.
  27. ^ Meza, Ed (23 March 2022). "Filmax Nabs Maria Ripoll's 'We Won't Kill Each Other With Guns' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  28. ^ Holland, Jonathan (14 April 2003). "Utopia". Variety.
  29. ^ Viaje al cine español. 25 años de los Premios Goya (PDF), Lunwerg, 2011, p. 282, ISBN 978-84-9785-791-8

Further reading

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