Masud Panahi was born on 10 January 1943. In 1966 he graduated from the Azim Azimzade Art School, and in 1972 from the art faculty of the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK), as well as from VGIK's course for directors-designers in animation. From 1973 to 1979 he worked as a director and artist of animated films at the "Azerbaijanfilm" studio named after Jafar Jabbarli. During these years he also organized several animation courses and trained dozens of animation specialists. Masud Panahi is the creator of the animated film "Tıq-tıq xanım" ("Pıspısa xanım və Siçan bəy" / Lady Pispisa and Mister Mouse). Since 1979 he has lived in Germany. He has taken part in the production of more than 60 animated films at the Berlin Central Telestudio and various animation studios. One of M. Panahi's most recent works is the animated film "Sükutun pozulması" ("Zerstörter Friede" / Broken Silence), made in 2012 with the support of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Berlin, telling the story of the tragedy that took place in the city of Khojaly. In 2020 Masud Panahi's autobiographical book "Rezin xoruz" (The Rubber Rooster) was published in Berlin, Germany.
