HanWay Films is an independent British international sales, distribution and marketing company specializing in theatrical feature films.
HanWay Films was founded in 1998 by film producer Jeremy Thomas (Chairman), along with his colleagues Peter Watson (Deputy Chairman) and Stephan Mallmann (Chief Operating Officer), who continue to sit on the board. Created as an adjunct to Thomas' Recorded Picture Company, it entered a period of growth when Tim Haslam, previously of Intermedia and Majestic Films, joined the company as CEO in 2003.[1][2] Matthew Baker was appointed Head of Acquisitions in 2004.[3]
HanWay Films arranges financing, sales and distribution for all films from Recorded Picture Company, along with projects from third-party producers.[4] Thomas named HanWay after Hanway Street in London's Soho, which houses both companies in a building with a Mondrian-style exterior. "HanWay is separate from me, but it has my spirit still," Thomas has said. "I try to make sure everyone working there loves films. That statement is romantic and naive -- I know it is."[1]
HanWay’s current slate includes Thomas' upcoming production of David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method starring Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender and Vincent Cassel, in the true-life story of the young Dr. Jung, his mentor Freud and the beautiful patient that came between them; Lone Scherfig’s coming-of-age drama An Education, which won Carey Mulligan a BAFTA award for Best Actress;[5] James Gunn’s pop-culture actioner Super starring Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page and Liv Tyler, from producer Ted Hope; Nigel Cole’s Made in Dagenham starring Golden Globe nominee Sally Hawkins from producer Stephen Woolley, and Andrea Arnold’s adaptation of the romantic classic Wuthering Heights.[6] Films recently handled include Nowhere Boy, a film by artist Sam Taylor-Wood based on John Lennon’s teenage years starring Aaron Johnson; Gurinder Chadha’s culinary black comedy It's a Wonderful Afterlife which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival,[7]Harry Brown starring Academy Award winner Michael Caine; Scott Hicks’ Australian-set drama The Boys Are Back starring Clive Owen; Irish comedy Perrier’s Bounty, starring Cillian Murphy and Academy Award winner Jim Broadbent; and Danis Tanovic’s Triage, with Colin Farrell in the lead. Theatrical documentary releases include Julien Temple’s Oil City Confidential, and Mugabe and the White African.[8]
Recent releases include Jon Amiel's Creation starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly (produced by Thomas), which opened the 2009 Toronto Film Festival,[9]Sunshine Cleaning starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt; Gerald McMorrow’s Franklyn starring Eva Green, Ryan Phillippe and Sam Riley (produced by Thomas), Christopher Smith’s period thriller Black Death starring Sean Bean, and Michael Winterbottom’s Genova starring Colin Firth.
The company is also handling Takashi Miike’s samurai epic Thirteen Assassins, and Jerzy Skolimowski's political thriller Essential Killing, both executive-produced by Thomas. Both films premiered at the 67th Venice International Film Festival, and Essential Killing went on to win the Special Jury Prize, Best Actor for Vincent Gallo (the Volpi Cup), and the Cinemavenniere Award for Best Film in Competition (voted by a youth jury). Upcoming productions include films by David Cronenberg, Terry Gilliam and Phillip Noyce.
The company has previously handled such titles as Woody Allen’s Match Point, starring Scarlett Johansson, Julian Jarrold’s Becoming Jane starring Anne Hathaway and James MacAvoy, and Sarah Polley’s multi-Academy Award nominated Away from Her starring Julie Christie.[10][11]
In its capacity as international sales agent, HanWay works closely with Ecosse Films.[1]
HanWay Films represents collections from the British Film Institute,[12] Merchant Ivory,[13] Peter Weir, Wim Wenders, Phillip Noyce, Jean Doumanian, Alex Cox, Manoel De Oliveira and Recorded Picture Company, comprising some 500 feature films, documentaries and animations. This collection includes films from noted world cinema figures, including Woody Allen, Bernardo Bertolucci, David Cronenberg, Clint Eastwood, Milos Forman, Stephen Frears, Terry Gilliam, Alfred Hitchcock, James Ivory, Takeshi Kitano, Bob Rafelson, Terence Davies, David Mamet, Martin Scorsese, Milos Forman and Ridley Scott.