Actress María Romanillos has been awarded the “A Future of Cinema” Prize at the 40th edition of Cinema Jove. She will be honored with the award during the festival’s opening gala, which will take place on June 19 in Valencia. This award, which highlights young performers with national and international projection, has previously been given to established actors such as Elena Anaya, Fele Martínez, Aura Garrido, and Amaia Romero. The day after receiving the prize, Romanillos will take part in a public Q&A session and will present two recent productions: the short film Hormiguilla (Fran Granada, 2024) and the feature film La casa (Álex Montoya, 2024), at La Filmoteca.
Despite her youth, María Romanillos has received significant recognition in the audiovisual industry. Her film debut in Las consecuencias (2021), directed by Claudia Pinto, earned her the Best Actress award at the Guadalajara International Film Festival (Mexico) and the Silver Biznaga for Best Supporting Actress at the Málaga Film Festival. Her role in La casa was also honored with the Lola Gaos Award for Best Supporting Actress.
María Romanillos is emerging as one of the most promising actresses in contemporary Spanish cinema.
Carlos Madrid, director of Cinema Jove, highlighted Romanillos’ ability to stand out even in supporting roles, emphasizing her talent and charisma. He notes that her work demonstrates the importance of non-leading characters in cinematic storytelling, and states that La casa has confirmed the promising trajectory of her career.
Born in Madrid in 2004, Romanillos trained in acting at prestigious institutions such as the Juan Codina Studio, the Cuarta Pared Theater School, and the Primera Toma Film School. Before transitioning to film, she appeared in prominent TV series such as Antidisturbios (2020), Historias para no dormir (2021), Maricón perdido (2021), and Paraíso (2021), where she shared the screen with actors also recognized by Cinema Jove, including Macarena García and Gorka Otxoa.
Her career has unfolded within a Spanish film scene that embraces risk and strong personal voices. She has portrayed complex and emotionally intense characters, such as the daughter of Paco León in No mires a los ojos (2022), and has explored genres like horror in 13 exorcismos (2022) and comedy in Norberta (2024), alongside Luis Bermejo and Adriana Ozores. Her characters are often fragile yet determined young people, full of humanity and inner strength, like Ema in La casa.
Additionally, Romanillos is part of the cast of Olympo (2025), a new Netflix series premiering worldwide on June 20, coinciding with her presence in Valencia. This youth-oriented series aims to replicate the success of Élite, serving as a launch platform for new talent. She also recently starred in the thriller El cuento del lobo (2025), based on the stage play Duda razonable, presented at the Ibero-American Film Festival of Huelva.
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