SAMANTHA AVILA is a Peruvian writer-director and photographer based between Mexico City and Lima. In 2019, she founded Res Films, an independent production company based in Lima. Her short film Puquio (2024) received honorable mentions at Festival de Cine de Lima and The Americas Film Festival of New York.

She is currently developing her first feature, Mother Tongue, which received the 2026 IMCINE Story Development Grant, was selected for Cine Qua Non Lab’s Storylines Lab and was a finalist for the 2026 Sundance Institute Cultural Impact Residency.

Avila is a Berlinale Talents Buenos Aires alumna and a Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today fellow.

ACCOLADES

IMCINE - Story Development Grant Recipient (Mother Tongue) 2026, Mexico
DAFO - Screenwriting Development Workshop (Mother Tongue) 2026, Peru
Sundance Institute - Cultural Impact Residency, Finalist (Mother Tongue) 2026, US
Premio al Fomento de las Artes 2024, Shortlisted (Puquio), 2024

COMMERCIAL REPRESENTATION

Mexico
Autocinema
Silver Jello

Peru
Manzanon Films