With more than 30 years in the entertainment industry, Learan Kahanov is known for his versatility and dedication to pushing the cinematic envelope. His artistic journey is diverse, yet his powerful focus has remained the same. Continually interested in exceeding the limits of what can be done in this visual medium, he also looks to challenge and uplift our industry and humankind as a whole.
An Isreali-American and the son of a fine artist and an industrial psychologist, Kahanov is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Climbing his way up the ranks in the New York independent film scene in the nineties, he has worked with the likes of Kevin Smith, Christine Vachon, Ira Deutchman and Todd Solondz.
While predominantly working as a Cinematographer, Kahanov has the ability to drop himself into any set, on any film or show, making him an indispensable artisan. With experience in both film and television: independent and major studio productions, unscripted and children’s television as well as music videos and concert films – the core to all of his work is based in storytelling.
Spending three decades on film sets of various sizes has given Learan a depth of knowledge not just as a filmmaker, but as a problem solver as well. Lending his skills to companies like Lionsgate, HBO, CBS, ABC, TBS, The CW, Starz, Sesame Workshop and The Jim Henson Company, his unique ability to work with various genres and budgets adds to his innate ability to enhance an idea into an even better version of itself.
Kahanov has been developing and writing his own projects as both a solo writer/producer and in tandem with others. His projects are devoted to exploring the human condition, bringing light to topics not easily discussed, but they are essential to society’s ongoing intellectual and psychological growth.
Based in New York, Kahanov can also be found experimenting in the kitchen or playing drums and the occasional washboard when not on set.