Joana Vicente

Joana Vicente is a Portuguese independent movie producer and executive. 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 Catholic University of Portugal with a Licenciatura 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 United Nations. From December 2009 to August 2018, Vicente served as the Executive Director of Independent Filmmaker Project, the nation's oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers. Under Vicente's leadership, the Independent Filmmaker Project was bestowed with the honor of developing and operating the Made in NY Media Center after an request for proposals was issued by the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment and the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Opened in Dumbo, Brooklyn in October 2013, facilities include an incubator and community workspace co-working spaces, a library, offices for anchor tenants, classrooms, a media arts gallery, a screening room, and a café . In 2013, Vicente was named to Variety's Women's Impact List and Marie Claire's New Guard power list. She also served on the World Cinema Jury for the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. In 2014, she was named one of the Brooklyn Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture.