Born in Zaragoza, Pilar graduated in Hispanic Philology at the University of Zaragoza in 2003. In 2006, Pilar graduated in Cinematography at the Escuela de Cine de Madrid (ECAM).
Her professional career took a 180-degree turn when in 2013 she was one of 16 filmmakers selected by Hungarian director Béla Tarr to participate in his collaborative Film Factory project in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina). There she had the opportunity to work and learn filmmaking with some of the most important critics, directors, and theorists in the contemporary film industry, such as Gus Van Sant, Carlos Reygadas, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Pedro Costa, Cristian Mungiu, Guy Maddin, Tilda Swinton, Juliette Binoche, Gael García Bernal, Jean-Michel Frodon, Rasha Salti, Thierry Garrel, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Jytte Jensen, among others.
During that period, she wrote and directed the short films Noć (2015) and La noche de todas las cosas (2016), the latter produced by Inicia Films and developed within the framework of the NISI MASA European Short Pitch. It was part of the official section of the Busan International Short Film Festival, among others. She also directed the medium-length film Zimsko Sunce (2017), which premiered in Spain at the Alcalá de Henares Film Festival 2017 and at Márgenes Festival, and the creative documentary Horta (2017), which had its world premiere at the prestigious Doclisboa'17.
In 2020 Pilar premiered her first feature film Las niñas at Malaga Film Festival, winning the Golden Biznaga for Best Film. After the festival, it reached commercial cinemas to great public and critical acclaim. Since its premiere, it has not stopped accumulating awards and recognitions, including 4 Goya Awards (Best Film, Best New Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography) and the ASECAN Award (Film without Andalusian Production), turning Palomero into the first director to win the award for Best New Director and Best Film at the same time. The film, produced by Inicia Films and Bteam Pictures, was also the big winner at the Feroz and Forqué Awards, and received countless awards at different national film festivals and screenings.
Pilar is also part of the film collective Bistrik7 and has participated in the Berlinale Talents in 2016 and 2021 and Sarajevo Talents 2016, as well as in the residencies of the Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Madrid) where she is developing her next project, La maternal (a feature film currently in post-production).
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