Biography

Lorena Villarreal is a screenwriter, director and producer that graduated from Emerson College where she studied film and marketing. Her directorial debut, "Las Lloronas" (The Weeping Women), which she co-wrote and produced, was part of the official selection of the Guadalajara Film Festival (2004).

The film was released in Mexico in 2004 and became a box office hit positioning itself in the top five of the Mexican films released that year. The film was recognized by the Mexican Film Institute for having one of the longest theatrical runs that year. The success of "Las Lloronas" led her to found the very first vertically integrated distribution-production company in Mexico.

In 2017 she wrote, directed and produced her second feature "Silencio", starring John Noble, Melina Matthews and Rupert Graves. In 2018 she co-produced the Mexican film "Lady Rancho", and was an associate producer in the film "The Accused" (Acusada), which was in the official selection in the 75th edition of the International Venice Film Festival.

She became the first female filmmaker from Mexico to be recognized by the prestigious ANAC (Associazione Nazionale Autori Cinematografici de Italia) in 2019, in Rome, Italy.

Lorena Villarreal also co-produced "The Intruder" (El Prófugo) by Natalia Meta, selected in the official competition at the 70th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival.
- IMDb mini biography by: Lorena Villarreal