Valentina Maurel

Valentina Maurel Soto (born 1988) is a Costa Rican-French director and screenwriter.

Early life Maurel was born in San José, Costa Rica, the daughter of Costa Rican poet Ana Istarú and French actor César Maurel. She studied art history at the University of Costa Rica for a year before moving to France at the age of 19. She later studied film at the Institut national supérieur des arts du spectacle et des techniques de diffusion (INSAS) in Brussels.

Career Maurel's graduation film at INSAS, a short titled Paul Is Here, won the Cinéfondation First Jury Prize at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Her debut feature film, I Have Electric Dreams, opened the official competition of Film Fest Gent in 2022. The film went on to win the Best Direction Award at the Locarno Film Festival, the Horizontes Award at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, and the Golden Alexander at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. In September 2024, she served on the Horizontes jury of the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival. Her second feature film, Forever Your Maternal Animal, competed in the Un Certain Regard competition of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.

Personal life Maurel is based in Belgium.

Filmography Year Title Director Writer Notes 2018 Paul Is Here Short film 2019 Lucia in Limbo Short film 2022 I Have Electric Dreams 2026 Forever Your Maternal Animal

Awards and nominations Award Year Category Nominated work Result Cinéfondation 2017 First Jury Prize Paul Is Here Film Fest Gent 2022 Grand Prix I Have Electric Dreams International Film Festival of India 2022 Golden Peacock Locarno Film Festival 2022 Golden Leopard Best Direction Award Luxembourg City Film Festival 2023 Grand Prix Magritte Award 2020 Best Fiction Short Film Lucia in Limbo San Sebastián International Film Festival 2022 Horizontes Award I Have Electric Dreams Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2022 Golden Alexander