Sevak "Sev" Ohanian (Armenian: Սեւակ Օհանյան, born June 2, 1987) is an American film producer and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-writer and producer of the films Searching and Run, as well as executive producer on the film Judas and the Black Messiah. He is also one of the founders of Proximity Media.
Ohanian was born to an Armenian family in West Germany, and moved to the U.S. when he was four months old. At 20 years old, he wrote, directed and produced a micro-budget film based on his own life, titled My Big Fat Armenian Family.[1] The movie found international success in the Armenian community worldwide. Ohanian used the proceeds from the films to help pay for tuition when he attended the University of Southern CaliforniaSchool of Cinematic Arts, and received an MFA in film and television production.[2]
Since graduating from USC in 2012, Ohanian has been a producer on over a dozen feature films. Ohanian co-produced the film Fruitvale Station, written and directed by fellow USC graduate Ryan Coogler.[3]Fruitvale Station went on to win the top audience and grand jury awards in the U.S. dramatic competition at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and also went on to premiere at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and won the Prize of the Future.[4][5]
In 2014, Ohanian produced a two-minute Google Glass spot called Seeds, directed by Aneesh Chaganty. The short became an internet sensation after garnering more than one million YouTube views in 24 hours,[6] and earned him a spot on The Wrap's 2014 Innovator's List of "Thought Leaders who are Changing Hollywood."[7] Ohanian produced Andrew Bujalski's film Results, which premiered at Sundance in 2015, and was acquired by Magnolia Pictures.[8] He also produced Clea DuVall's The Intervention, which premiered at Sundance 2016, and was acquired by Paramount.[9]
Ohanian taught producing as an adjunct professor at USC's School of Cinematic Arts from 2014 to 2018.[10]
Ohanian co-wrote the script and produced the film Searching with his often collaborators co-writer and director Aneesh Chaganty, and fellow producer Natalie Qasabian.[11][12]Searching premiered at Sundance 2018, and was theatrically released in August by Sony Screen Gems, making over $75 million worldwide.[13] The film starred John Cho and Debra Messing, and won the Sundance NEXT Audience Award, as well as the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Award. Ohanian was the recipient of the Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Narrative Producers Award.[14][15]
Ohanian co-wrote and produced the film Run, which sold to Lionsgate after a bidding war.[16]Run, which stars Sarah Paulson and Kiera Allen, was released in 2020 on Hulu, dropping plans for a wide theatrical release because of the worldwide coronavirus outbreak.[17]
In August 2019, Ohanian was announced as a producer of Missing alongside Natalie Qasabian and Aneesh Chaganty.[20] The movie will feature a new set of characters from the first movie, and be directed by Will Merrick and Nick Johnson, who will co-write the screenplay based on a treatment by Ohanian and Chaganty.[21]
In January 2021, Ohanian was announced as an executive producer on the HBO Max show The Future, a one-hour sci-fi tech drama based on Dan Frey's book The Future is Yours.[22]
In February 2021, it was announced Ohanian's company Proximity Media has signed a five-year exclusive TV deal with Disney.[23] Also in 2021, Ohanian was selected by The Hollywood Reporter for their annual 35 under 35 Rising Executives list.[24] Notably his sister, Ramela Ohanian, was also selected for the list.
