Julie Paratian

Julie Paratian is a French film producer of both documentary and fiction films. Her production company, Sister Productions (stylised SISTER Productions), has co-produced many films with companies from many other countries.

Early life and education

Julie Paratian graduated from HEC Business School in Paris, France.^[1]

Career

After graduation, Paratian moved to the United States, where she became a director for Orange, a multimedia production company in the 1990s.^[1] She worked as an international senior executive in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and New York City, US.^[2] Returning to France, she started working for World Social Forum, and also worked in India for this NGO.^[1]

She became a producer for Avenue B Productions in 2004, in partnership with Caroline Bonmarchand, producing mainly documentary films and also becoming involved in developing fiction films^[2] and restructuring the company.^[1]

In 2011, Paratian founded Sister Productions, a production company based in the Aquitaine region.^[2] She named her production company SISTER Productions as an anagram of "RESIST", to convey its "international, feminist and militant approach".^[3]

Paratian co-produced the 2016 Franco-Canadian drama film Night Song (French: Mobile Étoile), directed by Raphaël Nadjari.^[4]

Partian co-produced, with Astrig Chandeze-Avakian, the documentary feature Demons in Paradise, about the Sri Lankan Civil War. The film, co-written and directed by Jude Ratnam, premiered at Cannes Film Festival as a Special Screening in June 2017.^[5]

Through her company Sister Productions, she co-produced the 2020 Armenian-Belgian-French drama film Should the Wind Drop (French: Si le vent tombe), through Sister Productions.^[6] The film was selected for the 73rd edition of the Cannes Festival.^[7][8]

She co-produced the US-French-Irish-Jordanian feature documentary film My Sweet Land (2024), with director Sareen Hairabedian in his debut feature, along with Azza Hourani and David Rane.^[9]

Paratien co-produced, with Quebecois company La Cinquième Maison, the 2023 Canadian-French documentary film Caiti Blues, directed by Justine Harbonnier, which premiered in the Burning Lights Competition at the Visions du Réel film festival in Switzerland in 2023.^[10] and was screened at many other festivals.^[11]

Sister Productions was associate producer on Little Trouble Girls a 2025 drama film co-written and directed by Slovenian filmmaker Urška Djukić in her directorial debut.^[12]

Paratien is based in Bordeaux, France.^[1] She is the sole producer at the company, which is headquartered in Berson, France.^[3] The company produces documentaries and fiction films, as well as audiovisual media, often working with international subjects and directors.^[2]

Other activities

As of 2025^[update] Paratian is a member of the Eurodoc and ACE networks, and is a former president of Les Amis du Cinéma du Réel (Friends of Documentary Cinema).^[3]