Mariana Murillo Quesada - Productora

Bio

Mariana studied film production at ECAM in Spain. In 2011 she founded Sputnik Films, a production company focused on finding the new voices of the Latin American arthouse. In 2016 she produced “The Sound of Things”, which premiered at the Main Competition of the Moscow International Film Festival, and was awarded the Kommerzant Weekend Prize. It then went on to represent Costa Rica at the Goya and Academy Awards.

In 2017 she produced “Selva”, a short film by Sofía Quirós. It was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival Critic’s Week and later, was screened in over 50 cities around the world. “Selva” won the TV5 Award at the Biarritz Film Festival and the “Women in Film and TV” award at the Guanajuato IFF, among others.

“Ceniza Negra” (Land of Ashes) was Sofía Quirós debut film and Costa Rica’s first film to be selected by a competitive section at the Cannes Film Festival. It premiered at the Critic’s Week in 2019 and has since screened at festivals such as Mar del Plata IFF, Havana IFF, and Cairo IFF where it was awarded the Best Film prize by the Critic’s Week. “Ceniza Negra” was supported by the World Cinema Fund, the Aide aux Cinemas du Monde, and the Tribeca Latin American Film Fund, among others. 

Mariana has been selected in Puentes EAVE and BERLINALE TALENTS.

These days, Mariana is working on projects in Costa Rica, and with The Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Chile. 

Filmography

Ceniza Negra - 2019 - Producer

Feature film supported by World Cinema Fund, Ibermedia, Aide Aux Cinémas Du Monde. Directed by Sofia Quirós. Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, France. Premiered at Semaine de la Critique, Cannes 2019. Winner Best Film at Cairo’s IFF Critic’s Week and at Costa Rica’s IFF.

Selva - 2017 - Producer

Short film directed by Sofia Quirós. Winner of the TV5 Prize at the Festival Biarritz Amérique Latine 2018. Premiered at Semaine de la Critique, Cannes 2018.

The Sound of Things - 2016 - Producer

Feature Film directed by Ariel Escalante. Winner of the Kommerzant Weekend Prize at the Moscow IFF and the Jury Prize at Costa Rica’s IFF.

In development: Awaiting Birds (Dir. Sofia Quirós), Great art will be destroyed (Dir. Fernando Fonseca-Espinoza, Costa Rica), Does anybody remember? (Dir. Natalia Solórzano), Candy Town (Dir. Yanillys Pérez, Dominican Republic-France). 

Associate Producer: Gian (Dir. Nicole Chi, Costa Rica), 130 Siblings (Dir. Ainara Aparicio, Chile-Spain).