BIO
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.
Santiago has produced, written and directed a variety of commercial, scripted, and non-scripted productions. As the showrunner of the critically acclaimed 6-episode drama series Parece Que Fue Ayer for Ecuavisa, one of Ecuador’s largest TV networks, he managed all aspects of production, further establishing himself as a creative force.
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.
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 film.
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 Ecuadorian film industry.
Currently, Santiago is completing production on the first season of the 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.
