Marialy Rivas

Marialy Rivas is a Chilean lesbian filmmaker, raised in Chile during the Pinochet dictatorship, who has said she knew she wanted to direct films from age seven. She is known for Young and Wild (2012), an autobiographical film about a teenage evangelical girl's sexual awakening and exploration -- including her desire for women -- which won Best Screenplay in the World Cinema Dramatic category at the Sundance Film Festival and was Chile's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Her second feature, Princesita (2017), about a 12-year-old girl in a cult whose leader believes her to be chosen, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won Film of the Festival at Raindance. She has also directed episodes of Perry Mason (2020) and The Jetty (2024), and has spoken about the experience of making a semi-autobiographical coming-out story in a socially conservative country.