Joana Vicente
Encyclopedia
Joana Vicente is an independent movie producer. A prominent figure in the New York film industry, Vicente has produced over forty films with her producing partner and husband Jason Kliot
. In 1999 Vicente and Kliot produced Tony Bui
's feature debut, Three Seasons
, which took the three top awards at the Sundance Film Festival
, including the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize. Vicente and Kliot have since worked with directors such as Steven Soderbergh
, Brian De Palma
, Hal Hartley
, Nicole Holofcener
, Jim Jarmusch
, and Alex Gibney
.
Vicente graduated from the Masters program at The Catholic University of Portugal with a degree in Philosophy. She began her career as the Press attaché for the Portuguese delegate (and former Prime Minister of Portugal) at the European Parliament, and then as a radio news producer for the UN.
Vicente is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Independent Feature Project, the nation's oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers. The New York-based nonprofit has supported the production of 7,000 films and provided resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers since its start.
, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
, Coffee and Cigarettes
, Redacted
, The Assassination of Richard Nixon
, Welcome to the Dollhouse
and Awake. Throughout the years, their films have been nominated for 23 Independent Spirit Awards
- four have won. Their films have also been selected numerous times for the Cannes
, Berlin
, Venice
, and Toronto film festivals and have garnered four winning trophies at The Sundance Film Festival.
, was the first digital film produced and distributed in the US. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival
and was nominated for five Independent Spirit Awards
in 2001. Under the Blow Up banner, Vicente and Kliot also produced such films as Lovely and Amazing, Series 7: The Contenders
, and Love In the Time of Money.
and Todd Wagner
. The company produced 18 films in five years, all shot on digital video. The HDNet Films production of Steven Soderbergh
's Bubble
was the first film ever to be released "day-and-date," in the United States, simultaneously opening across theatrical, cable and satellite television, and home video platforms. This innovative distribution strategy allowed consumers to choose how, when and where they wished to see a film.
Films produced under HDNet include Academy-Award nominated Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
, and Redacted
, which took the Silver Lion
at the 2007 Venice Film Festival
.
Jason Kliot
Jason Kliot is an American independent movie producer based in New York. Kliot emerged with the American indie wave of the 90s, producing alongside his wife and business partner Joana Vicente. In 1995 Kliot and Vicente associate produced Todd Solondz's feature debut, Welcome to the Dollhouse,...
. In 1999 Vicente and Kliot produced Tony Bui
Tony Bui
Tony Bui is a Vietnamese independent film director in the U.S., most famous for his 1999 film Three Seasons, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and became the only film ever to win both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize there...
's feature debut, Three Seasons
Three Seasons
Three Seasons is an American Vietnamese language movie filmed in Vietnam about the past, present, and future of Ho Chi Minh City in the early days of New Vietnam. It is a poetic film that tries to paint a picture of the urban culture undergoing westernization. The movie takes place in Ho Chi...
, which took the three top awards at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, including the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize. Vicente and Kliot have since worked with directors such as Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
, Brian De Palma
Brian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as the horror film Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission:...
, Hal Hartley
Hal Hartley
Hal Hartley is an American film director, screenwriter, producer composer, who became a key figure in the American independent film movement of the 1980s and 1990s...
, Nicole Holofcener
Nicole Holofcener
Nicole Holofcener is an American film and television director. She has directed four feature films, most recently Please Give.-Career:...
, Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch
James R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
, and Alex Gibney
Alex Gibney
Alex Gibney is an American documentary film director and producer. In 2010, Esquire magazine said Gibney "is becoming the most important documentarian of our time."...
.
Vicente graduated from the Masters program at The Catholic University of Portugal with a degree in Philosophy. She began her career as the Press attaché for the Portuguese delegate (and former Prime Minister of Portugal) at the European Parliament, and then as a radio news producer for the UN.
Vicente is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Independent Feature Project, the nation's oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers. The New York-based nonprofit has supported the production of 7,000 films and provided resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers since its start.
Open City Films
Vicente and Kliot are co-founders and presidents of Open City Films, a production company of feature films and documentaries with an acclaimed catalogue of films including Three SeasonsThree Seasons
Three Seasons is an American Vietnamese language movie filmed in Vietnam about the past, present, and future of Ho Chi Minh City in the early days of New Vietnam. It is a poetic film that tries to paint a picture of the urban culture undergoing westernization. The movie takes place in Ho Chi...
, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a 2005 documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a study of one of the largest business scandals in American history...
, Coffee and Cigarettes
Coffee and Cigarettes
Coffee and Cigarettes is the title of three short films and a 2003 feature film by independent director Jim Jarmusch. The 2003 film consists of 11 short stories which share coffee and cigarettes as a common thread, and includes the earlier three films....
, Redacted
Redacted (film)
Redacted is a 2007 American war film written and directed by Brian De Palma. It is a fictional dramatization, loosely based on the 2006 Mahmudiyah killings in Mahmoudiyah, Iraq...
, The Assassination of Richard Nixon
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
The Assassination of Richard Nixon is a 2004 American film, directed by Niels Mueller. It stars Sean Penn, Don Cheadle and Naomi Watts, and is based on the story of would-be assassin Samuel Byck, who plotted to kill Richard Nixon in 1974. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004...
, Welcome to the Dollhouse
Welcome to the Dollhouse
Welcome to the Dollhouse is a 1995 American independent coming of age dark comedy. An independent film, it launched the careers of Todd Solondz and Heather Matarazzo.-Plot:...
and Awake. Throughout the years, their films have been nominated for 23 Independent Spirit Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
The Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
- four have won. Their films have also been selected numerous times for the Cannes
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, Berlin
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
, Venice
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
, and Toronto film festivals and have garnered four winning trophies at The Sundance Film Festival.
Blow Up Pictures
In 1998, Vicente and Kliot founded Blow Up Pictures, the first digital production company in the United States. Their first film, Chuck & BuckChuck & Buck
Chuck & Buck is a 2000 comedy-drama film written by and starring Mike White, and directed by Miguel Arteta. The title is a reference to the nickname that poet Charles Bukowski was known as in literary circles—Chuck Buk.-Plot:...
, was the first digital film produced and distributed in the US. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
and was nominated for five Independent Spirit Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
The Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
in 2001. Under the Blow Up banner, Vicente and Kliot also produced such films as Lovely and Amazing, Series 7: The Contenders
Series 7: The Contenders
Series 7: The Contenders is a 2001 film directed by Daniel Minahan. The movie is presented as a marathon of the seventh series of an American reality television show called The Contenders, where six people, picked at random from a national lottery, are each given a gun and forced to hunt and kill...
, and Love In the Time of Money.
HDNet Films
In 2003, Vicente and Kliot co-founded HDNet Films with Mark CubanMark Cuban
Mark Cuban is an American business magnate and investor. He is the owner of the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theatres, and Magnolia Pictures, and the chairman of the HDTV cable network HDNet....
and Todd Wagner
Todd Wagner
Todd R. Wagner co-founded Broadcast.com and now co-owns 2929 Entertainment with Mark Cuban, along with other entertainment properties and has also founded the Todd Wagner Foundation.- Early life :...
. The company produced 18 films in five years, all shot on digital video. The HDNet Films production of Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
's Bubble
Bubble (film)
Bubble is a movie directed by Steven Soderbergh. It was shot on high-definition video and was made for a relatively small budget of $1.6 million. It also featured some unusual production aspects.In traditional terms, the movie has no script...
was the first film ever to be released "day-and-date," in the United States, simultaneously opening across theatrical, cable and satellite television, and home video platforms. This innovative distribution strategy allowed consumers to choose how, when and where they wished to see a film.
Films produced under HDNet include Academy-Award nominated Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a 2005 documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a study of one of the largest business scandals in American history...
, and Redacted
Redacted (film)
Redacted is a 2007 American war film written and directed by Brian De Palma. It is a fictional dramatization, loosely based on the 2006 Mahmudiyah killings in Mahmoudiyah, Iraq...
, which took the Silver Lion
Silver Lion
The Leone d’Argento refers to a number of awards presented at the Venice Film Festival. The Silver Lion is awarded irregularly and have gone through several changes of purpose. Until 1995, Silver Lions were infrequently awarded to a number of films as second prize for those nominated for the...
at the 2007 Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
.
Awards and nominations
- 2010 Jacksonville Film FestivalJacksonville Film FestivalThe Jacksonville Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Jacksonville, Florida. Founded in 2002, the festival screens dozens of the hundreds of films submitted for its consideration...
Women In Film honoree - 2010 Jacksonville Film FestivalJacksonville Film FestivalThe Jacksonville Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Jacksonville, Florida. Founded in 2002, the festival screens dozens of the hundreds of films submitted for its consideration...
Excellence in Producing Award - 2007 Made in NYMade in NYMade in NY is an incentive program and marketing campaign of the City of New York Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting. Under the program, television and film productions which complete at least 75% of their shooting and rehearsal work in New York City are eligible for marketing...
Award, conferred by Mayor Michael BloombergMichael BloombergMichael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
and the New York Office of Film, Television, and Broadcasting - 2006 Academy-Award nomination, Best Feature Length Documentary for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the RoomEnron: The Smartest Guys in the RoomEnron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a 2005 documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a study of one of the largest business scandals in American history...
- 2000 Independent Spirit AwardIndependent Spirit AwardsThe Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
nomination, Best First Feature for Three SeasonsThree SeasonsThree Seasons is an American Vietnamese language movie filmed in Vietnam about the past, present, and future of Ho Chi Minh City in the early days of New Vietnam. It is a poetic film that tries to paint a picture of the urban culture undergoing westernization. The movie takes place in Ho Chi...