[1] In the 1980s Panfilov, a chemist by profession, moved to theatre directing, but also found time to adapt for the screen Alexander Vampilov's play Valentina (1981), as well as Maxim Gorky's Vassa Zheleznova (1983) and Mother (1989).

The film, finally released in 2000, was a sort of family project involving his wife as well as children.

In 2000 at the 22nd Moscow International Film Festival Panfilov was awarded an Honorable Prize for his contribution to cinema.

[4] In January 2006 RTR TV aired Panfilov's miniseries based on Alexander Solzhenitsyn's novel The First Circle.

The Nobel Prize-winning author helped adapt the novel for the screen and narrated the film.