After her pre-film life as a sign painter, flight attendant and graphic designer, Panian worked as a TV editor for Endemol in Cologne and as a freelance editor and director for Swiss television. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism at the ZHAW in 2010, followed by a Master in directing Feature Film in 2015.

 

Her debut documentary DYING TO LIVE - a film about the transformative power of death - won the Audience Award at the Zurich Film Festival in 2014 and was released in cinemas in 2015. Alongside the film, the book ZU ENDE DENKEN was published by Wörterseh-Verlag.

 

For her first feature film LOVERS (2019) she shot the main storyline within 24 hours with 2 cameras, a crew of 6 people, no conventional script and mostly improvised dialog.

 

At the end of 2023, she launched the playful-collaborative talk show format VOLL AUF DIE 12, which is about finding solutions instead of just debating and fighting and where everyone can have their say. Currently she is planning a one-year SWISS TOUR with the format.

 

Since 2018 Rebecca has been actively committed to a fairer and more sustainable future through her work and being. In 2018, she launched the project VILLAGE TESTS FUTURE to test the idea of an unconditional basic income (UBI) in a Swiss village. This led to the development of the impact documentary IMAGINE, a film that questions and re-imagines our reality.

 

Today, she develops documentaries and feature films as an author and director. Her experience as a cinematographer, editor and producer is the basis for a respectful collaboration and contributes to the development of meaningful and hopeful stories.