Banijay America’s A Fábrica Mexico & U.S. Hispanic has tapped director-writer Max Zunino, for the newly created position of executive director of development.
Zunino will work closely alongside Santiago Zapata, executive VP of Content, who joined the fledgling company in August last year.
Said Zapata: “Max’s exceptional narrative sensibility, combined with his dual perspective as both director and screenwriter, is exactly the kind of creative strength we’re looking for. His appointment is a clear example of our ambition to join forces with the region’s top creative talent and build a portfolio of stories for global audiences.”
Aside from directing the series “Collision” (“Colisión”) for HBO Max and the Fabula-produced “The Dentist” (“El Dentista”) for ViX, Zunino’s writing credits include “This Is Not Berlin,” the acclaimed coming-of-age punk rock/New Wave-set feature by Hari Sama, Netflix’s political drama series “Tijuana” and Prime Video’s dark comedy series “Freddy Larios.”
“This is a brilliant opportunity to collaborate with the leadership and wider teams at A Fábrica Mexico & U.S. Hispanic and EndemolShine Boomdog. I’m focused on shaping the development strategy and creating original projects to connect with audiences around the world,” said Zunino.
Born in Uruguay but based in Mexico, Zunino has garnered numerous awards and accolades across both television and film. His debut feature film, “Open Cage” (“Los Bañistas”), which he wrote, directed and produced, snagged the coveted Fipresci Prize at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma in Montreal. It was also awarded the Guerrero Press Award at the Guadalajara Intl. Film Festival among other honors.
Shot in Berlin and Mexico City, his second feature, “Mist” (“Bruma”), which he also wrote, directed and produced, screened in the Visions section of the 2017 Berlinale EFM. It had its world premiere at the 2017 Raindance Film Festival.
Zunino is a founder of Room Service, which has produced a wide range of fiction content for the likes of Amazon, Netflix, Story House, Sony, Fox, Argos and Televisa, among others.
He is a founding member and part of the board of Tinta, the Mexican Association of Audiovisual and Cinematographic Writers.
Founded in January 2025 by Endemol Shine Boomdog and Brazil’s A Fábrica, A Fábrica Mexico & U.S. Hispanic, led by Luiz Noronha, has a number of projects in the pipeline, including via a partnership with Leonardo Padrón, announced last year.
