The pioneering French-Iranian producer and sales agent leaves behind a long-lasting legacy
Pioneering producer and celebrated Celluloid Dreams founder Hengameh Panahi died on November 5 following a long illness, sending shockwaves of sadness throughout the international film community and leaving a long-lasting legacy of both championing auteur cinema and shaking up the status quo in her wake.
The revered French-Iranian industry executive was known for finding and following emerging directors and accompanying their films to festival glory and international acclaim. Her career spanned four decades and more than 800 films.
She worked alongside iconic directors from across the globe including Jacques Audiard, Jafar Panahi, Jia Zhangke, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Todd Haynes, Takeshi Kitano, Laurent Cantet, the Dardenne brothers, Marco Bellocchio and Naomi Kawase. Known as a bridge between Europe and global markets, Panahi was among the first to champion now-acclaimed auteurs like François Ozon, Bruno Dumont, Gaspar Noé and Marjane Satrapi with their debut features.
Among her vast filmography are Jafar Panahi’s Berlinale Golden Bear-winning Taxi Tehran, Audiard’s Oscar-nominated A Prophet and Palme d’Or winner Dheepan, Satrapi’s Oscar-nominated Persepolis and Lorenzo Vigas’s 2015 Venice Golden Lion winner From Afar.
In more recent years, she executive produced Brandon Cronenberg’s sci-fi thriller Infinity Pool and handled sales for Panahi’s No Bears, which won the special jury prize in Venice 2022. She was also notably part of France’s Oscar selection committee that same year.
Seal of quality
Born in Iran, Pahani grew up in Belgium and launched Celluloid Dreams there in 1985 before moving to France and setting up the company in Paris in 1993. The company’s Director’s Label went on to become a signature seal of quality for global filmmakers.
Always ahead of her time, she spearheaded innovative approaches to production, co-financing and distribution models as the industry shifted over the years. In 2014, she launched indie VoD platform The Auteurs with Turkish entrepreneur Efe Çakarel, which would go on to transform into what is now powerhouse global streamer Mubi.
Her impact looms large as evinced by the massive outpouring of emotion from international industry executives. Those who knew Panahi cite her passion-fueled approach to not only supporting her own films and filmmakers, but improving the industry in its entirety.
Michael Barker, co-president of Sony Pictures Classics, was effusive in his praise: “Hengameh was a major figure in the international independent film industry: an incredible sales agent and tough negotiator with deep knowledge. She was so engaging on a personal level and had impeccable taste. She sold us A Prophet, The Triplets Of Belleville, films from the Dardenne brothers, and Persepolis, which we boarded at script stage after Hengameh introduced us to Marjane [Satrapi]. If you look at some of the finest films of the past 30 years, Hengameh was involved in many of them.”
Barker’s SPC colleague, senior executive VP of acquisitions and production Dylan Leiner, described Panahi as “patient and tough and a fierce advocate for the films and filmmakers she represented”, adding that “she championed filmmakers that buyers and audiences had hardly heard of because she saw the sparks of potential in them and then forged long and fruitful relationships. She was among the first indie sales agents to move into production.”
Leiner added: “She was famous for running late to meetings at markets simply because for her a conversation wasn’t just an opportunity for a transaction but a chance to have a deep and rich conversation about the state of the culture, the business, the world… She will be sorely missed and her absence will leave a big hole.”
Vincent Maraval, Wild Bunch co-founder turned Goodfellas president, said of Panahi: “Our story is linked to her. We are losing a part of ourselves, a partner in crime, passion and dedication. This is a major loss.” He added: “We were competitors, but like Federer and Nadal, we were friends. We shared the same passion. We spoke often, especially towards the end. She was so courageous. I’m very sad – it’s the end of an era.”
Mike Goodridge, GoodChaos founder and former CEO of Protagonist Pictures, said: “Hengameh was a legend. She redefined the world sales business with her famously good taste, global connections and incredible charisma. She was so supportive of me when I was CEO at Protagonist Pictures and we spent many memorable times together in the last decade.” He added: “I shall miss her warmth and wisdom, and will never forget her.”
“I will miss this sister in cinema”
Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas, also known for forging strong ties with visionary filmmakers, said: “We will all miss Hengameh’s wonderful presence. Her taste and presentation of all the filmmakers she worked with was an exemplary quality which I admired. I will miss this sister in cinema.”
Venice film festival director Alberto Barbera also praised the bonds Panahi formed with filmmakers. “She was far more than a simple sales agent or co-producer: she could become their friend and counsellor, a mentor who could guide them through the most difficult choices and support them in moments of uncertainty,” he said. “For the festival directors and distributors, she guaranteed a quality based on her sophisticated taste and infallible eye for new auteurs.”
Barbera added: “Working with her since the 1990s, when I first met her in Teheran, and until very recently, has been an immense pleasure, to enjoy her respect and friendship an absolute privilege. She leaves behind a void that will be very hard to fill.”
Jerome Paillard, longtime head of Cannes’ Marché du Film, said he admired “her strength, her energy, her vision, not just of films but of the industry in general”, while Unifrance executive director and international sales veteran Daniela Elstner said Panahi “wasn’t just an incredible discoverer of new talent, but was always questioning how she and the entire film industry could do better.”
Elstner added: “She trained and inspired a whole generation of exporters with her exacting standards, her precision, her unfailing taste and her unconditional passion for both films and artists.”
Maneki Films’ Didar Domehri called Panahi “a legendary producer and sales agent [and] a visionary, passionate, key person in our industry who played such an important role in the history of cinema through all of the amazing directors she discovered. She was an inspiration for all of us. We owe her a lot and we will miss her very much.”
Those who knew Panahi point to her avant-garde thinking and constant quest to improve the world of cinema at every level.
“Hengameh was always ahead of the curve, sometimes too far ahead for the industry and the world at large,” said SPC’s Leiner. “Years ago she tried to form partnerships between indie global distributors to help them compete against bigger multi-territory buyers as well as to share materials and costs to increase efficiencies – models that are in play today.”
Elstner said: “Hengameh was always trying to push the boundaries. She knew how to look and tried to think about the world of tomorrow, with her ambitious ideas, often ahead of their time.”
Paillard added: “She was curious about everything, especially technological developments. She liked to experiment, but always felt that things weren’t moving fast enough. Perhaps she knew deep down that she wouldn’t have all the time she needed.”
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