THIAGO ZANATO
▶_BIO_

Film Director +
Creative Director

⌖Los Angeles, CA
@thiagozanato

▽CONTACT
thiago.zanato@gmail.com

/FILM & NARRATIVE WORK

/BRANDED & COMMERCIAL

/PHOTOGRAPHY

I’M THIAGO ZANATO, A BRAZILIAN FILMMAKER, PHOTOGRAPHER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR BASED IN LOS ANGELES. MY WORK EXPLORES BELONGING, IDENTITY, AND CULTURE — OFTEN FOCUSING ON OVERLOOKED CHARACTERS AND UNTOLD STORIES. I’M PASSIONATE ABOUT CREATING ARTFUL, SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS PROJECTS THAT CHALLENGE HOW WE SEE THE WORLD AND OURSELVES.

PHOTO ESSAY #1 - NIGERIA

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.

NIKE BOOK 1

Product photos for Nike’s Book 1 new Haven, Hike and Rattlesnake.

PHOTO ESSAY #2 - TEPITO, MEXICO

These are a few pictures that I took while doing the research for “La Flaca”, in Tepito, Mexico City.

PHOTO ESSAY #3 - HIDALGO PENITENTIARY, MEXICO

These are a few pictures that I took while doing the research for “La Flaca”, at the Hidalgo State penitentiary, Mexico.

Every year after the Day of the Dead in November, Enriqueta used to visit several locations to hold a mass for the Santa Muerte (Holy Death) devotees. One of these locations is the Hidalgo State prison. More than half the inmates are devotees and they wait for Enriqueta to bless them and talk about their future and what their life will be like when they come out of prison. Enriqueta passed away a few years ago.

PHOTO ESSAY #4 - REPÚBLICA, SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL

Street photography of República, the neighborhood I lived in São Paulo a few years ago.

República is a central neighborhood in downtown São Paulo, where I lived for about 2 years recently. Once the richest area of São Paulo, now it is known for being a hub of prostitution and drug use - it is also becoming rapidly gentrified, further accentuating the already indisputable inequality that plagues the city, the state and the country. It felt to me like the heart of the city was bloated and throbbing with pain - but still hopeful.