SANTIAGO PALADINES

Santiago Paladines is an award-winning Ecuadorian film producer, director, and showrunner based in Los Angeles. With an MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute (AFI) in Hollywood, his work has earned recognition from the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the Hispanic Heritage Short Film Awards in Washington, D.C. He has also been honored by the City of Los Angeles and the California Senate for his contributions to the Latino community.

 

His AFI thesis film, The Fare, has won multiple awards and has been featured in over twenty international film festivals, including AFI Fest, Cleveland International Film Festival, LA Shorts, HollyShorts, and the Madrid International Film Festival. It was also chosen by AFI to be screened at the 2017 AFI showcase.

Santiago has produced, written, and directed a wide range of commercial, scripted, and non-scripted productions. He has served as showrunner and lead creative on multiple series, overseeing projects from development through production, and consolidating his experience in managing teams, narrative vision, and large-scale productions.

In 2023, Santiago released his debut feature film, Los Wanabis, which he wrote, directed, produced, and composed the original music for. The film became the most-watched Ecuadorian film in cinemas that year, secured Ecuador's first nomination for Best Comedy at the 2024 Platino Awards and got 9 nominations at the Ecuadorian Academy Awards (Premios Colobrí), taking home best script and best supporting actor.

He has been a film professor at USFQ (Universidad San Francisco de Quito) since 2018, a role he cherishes as an important contribution to the growing film industry.

Currently, Santiago has completed the first season of the premium documentary series Seekers, featuring talents like Jamie Lynn Sigler, Riley Keough, and Edgar Ramirez. Filmed in diverse locations such as Japan, Ecuador, Zimbabwe, the United States, and India, Seekers captures profound life-changing journeys across the globe.