A Fábrica Mexico & U.S. Hispanic, part of Banijay Americas, has appointed award-winning producer, screenwriter and veteran industry executive Santiago Zapata as its new Scripted Vice President, it was announced today by Luiz Noronha, President of A Fábrica Mexico & U.S. Hispanic and Alejandro Rincón, CEO EndemolShine Boomdog, who oversees the label.
Zapata will oversee all scripted development and production for the recently launched Mexico City-based label. He joins from Ntertain Studios/Neon16, founded by former Sony Music Entertainment CEO Tommy Mottola and Lex Borrero, where he led the film & TV division out of Miami. There he developed a slate of films, original series, documentaries and brand collaborations for the U.S. and Latin American markets. Notable projects included collaborations with global icons including Will Smith, Thalia and Big Sean.
Zapata also brings extensive experience behind the camera. He recently served as showrunner on the Disney+ series Los Montaner for two seasons, wrote and executive produced Netflix’s La Firma and Paramount+’s Thalia’s Mixtape, and is currently directing and producing a feature documentary on legendary music mogul Tommy Mottola.
“’Santiago is a storyteller at heart and brings deep creative experience as an executive, along with a forward-thinking enthusiasm as a producer,” says Luiz Noronha. “He’s truly a breath of fresh air, with a strong foundation in both scripted and talent-driven projects. His collaborative spirit and instinctive understanding of client needs will keep us closely aligned with our partners and the stories they want to tell the world.”
Santiago Zapata added, “I’m very grateful for this opportunity to join A Fábrica at such an exciting moment. Not only for what it represents for my career, but also on a personal level, as it allows me to grow alongside a team I truly admire for their talent, experience, and above all, their integrity. I’m incredibly excited about this new chapter, especially for the challenge of taking my work to the next level: trusting my instincts and creating stories that genuinely resonate with audiences.”
Last month, EndemolShine Boomdog and Banijay Entertainment announced a partnership with acclaimed writer and producer, Leonardo Padrón, to launch Leonardo Padrón Productions. Focused on premium content, the venture will collaborate with A Fábrica Mexico & U.S. Hispanic to deliver a slate defined by distinctive storytelling. Several scripted drama series are currently in development with Padrón for Spanish-language audiences in the U.S., Mexico and Latin America, with initial projects expected to hit the marketplace later this year.
Zapata began his career directing music videos, short films, and commercials, before joining Contento Films, a company instrumental in putting Medellín, Colombia on the global production map. Working alongside the local government, he helped design film-incentive programs that helped multiply the region’s audiovisual production output tenfold.
He later led multiple production services in feature films for major studios like Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures and MarVista Entertainment and that momentum carried him into independent film. As a writer and producer, his most notable credits include The Boy (2015), with Elijah Wood’s SpectreVision, City of Dead Men (2016), distributed by Gravitas Ventures and Monos (2019), the most-awarded film in Colombian history, shortlisted for the 2020 Academy Awards and Goya-nominated.
His work has been honored at international festivals like Sundance, Berlinale, BFI London, San Sebastián, and Palm Springs International Film Festival, and more, and has been recognized by the Latin Grammys, MTV European Awards, and Premios Platino.
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