Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Surprise meSurprise meSubscribe
Encyclopedia

HanWay Films

British film and distribution company

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
6 min read
Source updated September 13, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

HanWay Films is a British independent film production and distribution company specializing in theatrical feature films as well as distributing them on home entertainment systems.

HanWay is an international sales, distribution and marketing company specialising in films from worldwide talent. HanWay arranges financing, sales and distribution for all films from Recorded Picture Company, along with projects from third party producers.

01History

On 30 November 1998, Jeremy Thomas founded production and foreign sales company HanWay Films with his colleagues Peter Watson (deputy chairman) and Stephan Mallmann, and continues to chair the board. Two new members joined the board in 2011, Thorsten Schumacher, previously head of sales, was appointed managing director, and former head of business affairs Jan Spielhoff took up the reins as chief operating officer.

HanWay also represents an extensive film catalogue of over 500 features including films from Thomas's Recorded Picture Company, and the British Film Institute. These include productions by Woody Allen, Takeshi Kitano, Bernardo Bertolucci, Wim Wenders, Terry Gilliam, David Cronenberg, Peter Greenaway, Jean-Luc Godard, David Mamet, Miloš Forman, Stephen Frears, Phillip Noyce and Nagisa Ōshima.

In August 2022, it was announced that American film production company Cohen Media Group had acquired HanWay Films from its founder Jeremy Thomas with HanWay Films continued to be branded as an independent label within Cohen Media Group. In January 2025, HanWay became the main representative of the Cohen Film Collection.

02Productions

HanWay's productions include Thomas' 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; James Gunn’s pop-culture actioner Super starring Rainn Wilson, Elliot 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.

Other films 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, 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 Tanović’s Triage, with Colin Farrell in the lead. Theatrical documentary releases include Julien Temple’s Oil City Confidential, and Mugabe and the White African.

Other releases include Jon Amiel's Creation starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly (produced by Thomas), which opened the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, 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 also handled 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 McAvoy, and Sarah Polley’s multi-Academy Award nominated Away from Her starring Julie Christie.

In its capacity as international sales agent, HanWay works closely with Ecosse Films.

HanWay Films represents collections from the British Film Institute, Merchant Ivory, Peter Weir, Wim Wenders, Phillip Noyce, Jean Doumanian, Alex Cox, Paul Cox, New Zealand Film Commission, 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, Miloš Forman, Stephen Frears, Terry Gilliam, Alfred Hitchcock, James Ivory, Takeshi Kitano, Bob Rafelson, Terence Davies, David Mamet, Martin Scorsese, and Ridley Scott.

With Carol, Brooklyn and Anomalisa, managing director Thorsten Schumacher announced 2015 as "the most successful year for [HanWay Films] to date."

03Team

Executive Board

  • Jeremy Thomas - Chairman
  • Peter Watson - Vice Chairman
  • Marie-Gabrielle Stewart - Managing Director

Marketing and Publicity

  • Tom Grievson - Head of Marketing and Distribution
  • Tejinder Jouhal - Director of Marketing and Distribution
  • Joseph Hewitt - Marketing Manager

Sales

  • Nicole Mackey - Head of Sales
  • Mark Lane - Director of Sales
  • Marta Ravani - Director of Sales, HanWay The Collections

Acquisitions

  • Matthew Baker - Director of Acquisitions

Business Affairs & Finance

  • Justin Kelly - Head of Business & Legal Affairs
  • Beverley Cullen - Contracts Manager
  • Elizabeth Kormanova - Director of Business Affairs
  • Ivan Kelava - Senior Business Affairs Manager
  • Rachel Barbut - Financial Controller
  • Siu Lee - Assistant Accountant
  • Gareth Melia - Assistant Accountant

04Films

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Upcoming

Watch videos about HanWay FilmsExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “HanWay Films”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.