UK sales agent HanWay Films has landed two major hires, with Ivan Kelava joining as head of production and Edward Parodi as director of sales.
Kelava previously held the post of in-house producer at Jeremy Thomas’ Recorded Picture Company, where his credits as co-producer and executive producer include Jan Komasa’s Good Boy and Takashi Miike’s upcoming Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo. As an independent producer, Kelava developed and produced the Croatian-language feature The Wedding and Karlovy Vary and Sitges selection The Uncle.
He takes over from Katie Ellen, who joined BBC Film as head of film finance last year, and will drive HanWay’s production, packaging and financing activities.
Parodi joins from Film Constellation, where he was director of acquisitions, and worked on films including Jeremy Comte’s Berlinale Panorama world premiere Paradise, as well as Georgia Oakley’s Blue Jean and James Marsh’s Dance First.
Genevieve Segall has also been promoted to head of acquisitions, having joined as director of acquisitions in 2023 from Universal Pictures Content Group. At HanWay, she’s worked on films including Tornado, Bad Apples and La Cocina.
The company’s EFM slate includes Olive Nwosu’s Lady, which world premiered at Sundance and plays at the Berlinale in Panorama. HanWay will be screening promos of horror Legacy and coming-of-age drama The Julia Set during the market.
“I am excited to be rejoining HanWay after gaining further hands-on production experience and look forward to being part of the next chapter for the company,” said Kelava.
“I’m thrilled to be rejoining the incredible team at HanWay 10 years after they gave me my first experience in sales and distribution,” added Parodi, who replaces Andrei Kamarowsky, now head of international at France’s Logical Pictures Group. “It really feels like a full-circle moment, having constantly been inspired by their commercially-minded quality slate.
“We’re extremely lucky to be able to work with such talented young executives,” said HanWay president, Peter Watson. “In her first three years at the company Genevieve has brought freshness and vitality with an unerring instinct for the zeitgeist. Along with Ivan and Edward, this team brings diverse tastes and rich experiences which both embolden and challenge our company to strive towards the vanguard of contemporary cinema.”
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