I’M THIAGO ZANATO, A BRAZILIAN DIRECTOR, PHOTOGRAPHER, AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR BASED IN LOS ANGELES. I WORK ACROSS NARRATIVE FILM, DOCUMENTARIES, AND COMMERCIALS — BRINGING A CINEMATIC, CULTURALLY-DRIVEN APPROACH TO EVERY PROJECT. MY WORK EXPLORES THEMES OF IDENTITY, BELONGING, AND OVERLOOKED NARRATIVES, ALWAYS AIMING TO CHALLENGE HOW WE SEE THE WORLD AND OURSELVES.
I’M HERE
Client: Absolut Vodka
Agency: TBWA NY
Role: Creative Director
This short film was created for Absolut Vodka as part of their Collaborative Series campaign. In this case, we partnered with Spike Jonze to tell a story about how creativity triumphs over conformity. The result is a heartfelt narrative about a robot who falls in love. The film premiered at Sundance.
LA FLACA
Hybrid Film
Role: Director
A hybrid film about Arely Vazquez and the Santa Muerte
(TIME 20 min) (USA) 2019
Arely Vazquez's personal story as an immigrant and transgender woman is the starting point of the short movie "La Flaca", that attempts to show what the Santa Muerte (Holy Death) cult is about - a cult formed by those marginalized in our society. The movie blurs the line between documentary and fiction when bringing together real characters and events with a fictional plot, based on the day of the 9th Anniversary of the Santa Muerte. Arely gathers the devotees annually in a celebration through the night, idealized by her as a form of fulfilling her vows to the Skeleton Saint.
"La Flaca" is above all a documentary about the overcoming of prejudices and the breaking of tabus, that also questions social superficial morals. It is a movie about life, but it is also a movie about death - the death that is always just for she'll come to meet us all, sooner or later.
ABSOLUT ANTHEM
Client: Absolut Vodka
Agency: TBWA NY
(TV Spot + OOH)
Role: Creative Director
Absolut Vodka’s anthem spot carried a simple message: doing things differently leads to something extraordinary. Directed by Rupert Sanders, the production involved large-scale sculptures and practical stunts, filmed across five different cities — all set to the haunting sound of a Joy Division track. The result is a striking montage of human-made installations, seamlessly woven together to embody the brand’s motto.
HALO BELIEVE
Client: Microsoft
Agency: AKQA
(Website & Campaign)
Role: Creative Director
This was one of the most successful campaigns to date for Microsoft. The digital launch of the Halo 3 franchise involved many different components, including a website, an ARG and TV spots.
A 40" X 40" diorama of a battle scene from the game was built, containing miniatures from Stan Winston at New Deal Studios. THrough motion control cameras, and digital compositing to transform the scene into a first person immersive experience.
It involved many different components like an interactive spot that allowed the user to travel through a 40" X 40" diorama of a battle scene from the game.
PUMA: HACKED
CAMPAIGN 2019
Role: Director
Shot in Germany, Spain and UK.
I had the pleasure to direct a series of films for PUMA Football, with some of the greatest soccer players around: Marco Reus, Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suárez, Sergio Aguero and Romelu Lukaku. The campaign promoted their new HACKED line of boots and the films highlighted the glitchy texture on the boots, that spreads around the scenes to create crazy effects and weird situations involving each player.
NY-Z
Client: Absolut Vodka
Agency: TBWA NY
(Documentary + OOH)
Role: Creative Director
NY-Z is a project featuring Jay-Z for Absolute Vodka. It's a documentary created in the spirit of creative collaboration, in this case between Jay-Z and the photographer Danny Clinch. The result is a beautiful film about Jay-Z and tons of photographs taken by Danny Clinch. The documentary played at Jay-z's concert at the Madison Square Garden in New York, right before Jay-Z's concert.
ÈSÙ AND THE UNIVERSE
Role: Director
Documentary, 95 min
Shot in Nigeria, Brazil, Spain & Slovenia.
A Nigerian professor, who lives in between Brazil, travels the world to reclaim the true history of Èṣù and prove to the world that this orixá is not the Devil.
AWARDS & FESTIVALS:
25th Rio Film Festival, Audience Award for Best Documentary
45th São Paulo International Film Festival, Critics’ Award for Best Documentary
ABD Award, Best Documentary Editing
Ecofalante Environmental Film Festival, Audience Award
Bushwick Film Festival (October 2023), Honorable Mention
SVA Film & Media Festival, Best Film
LALIFF 2023 Latino International Film Festival
62nd FICCI (Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival)
OJU Roda SESX Black Cinema Showcase
Kinoarte Film Festival
MARKETS/LABS:
Points North Fellowship
"Only in NY" Industry Meetings at the DOC NYC.
Latino Media Market - NALIP Media Summit
WIP Latino - Festival de Cine Internacional de Guadalajara in LA. Awarded with the Marketing Movie Runner.
Industry Meetings at DocSP - International Documentary Meeting of Sao Paulo.
VI Chile Conecta Encuentro Internacional de Industria Documental
PHOTO ESSAY #1 - NIGERIA
Role: Photographer
These are a few pictures that I took while doing the research for “Esu and the Universe”.
This photo series was created during the research for my documentary Esu and the Universe. Shot across Nigeria, the images capture moments of daily life where Yoruba traditions, Catholicism, Islam, and modernity coexist and collide. From street corners where offerings to orixás sit beside mosque walls, to roadside shrines tucked between churches and markets, these photographs offer a glimpse into a world where faiths blend seamlessly into the fabric of everyday life. What might seem curious or unexpected to Western eyes is simply reality in a place where the sacred and the ordinary are one and the same.
ABSOLUT DRINKS
Client: Absolut Vodka
Agency: TBWA NY
(Website + OOH)
Role: Creative Director
A bold campaign for Absolut Vodka, shot by Ellen von Unwerth and starring Zooey Deschanel and Kate Beckinsale. At its core were six print ads — each one built around a distinct cocktail-inspired world, brought to life through striking art direction and rich character storytelling. Deschanel and Beckinsale each embodied unique personas, turning every image into a cinematic moment.
ME PASÉ
(MUSIC VIDEO)
(TIME 3 min) (USA) R- 2022
Twin Palms X Jenn Morel
Role: Director
HEINEKEN.COM
Client: Heineken
Agency: Publicis NY
(Website)
Role: Creative Director
Heineken.com was developed to host original content tailored specifically for the U.S. market. The challenge was to create engaging, standout experiences within Heineken’s global CMS — while differentiating it from other localized versions. These are some of the original concepts for an immersive, scroll-driven site that blends video, photography, and HTML animation into a seamless digital journey. The site is continuously updated with fresh content and is live at Heineken.com
