Bio

Maria Cristhin Kuiper Villavicencio is a Dutch–Peruvian documentary filmmaker with roots in both Eindhoven and Cusco. Growing up between these two places shaped her perspective and sparked an interest in complex, cross-cultural stories.

Her work centers on women’s experiences and explores broader societal issues through intimate, character-driven storytelling. With a background in journalism, she brings a sensitivity to how systemic injustices unfold in everyday life.

Her current project, Mule, is her first feature documentary. It follows the stories of women incarcerated for drug trafficking in Asia — many of them single mothers targeted during vulnerable moments in their lives. The film grew out of her reporting in Hong Kong, where she co-produced a story on the high rate of female incarceration, largely driven by drug trafficking.

Alongside Mule, she is working on two personal documentaries that touch on themes of parental absence, addiction, faith, and the Latin American culture of death.

Before turning to filmmaking, she worked for AFP News Agency in Hong Kong for five years and at TVB, a local station, for one year. She studied Arts and Culture at Maastricht University and holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Hong Kong.

She is a fellow of the Playgrounds Talent Development Program and participated in the CineSud Talent Film Pitch with All Under One Name (formerly Demy & Nicole).