In the first LXC Conversation pieces of the new academic year 2024-2025, the Lisbon Consortium students had a conversation with independent film producer and executive Joana Vicente.
After graduating from FCH-Católica, Vicente has launched her career in New York. Together with her husband, Jason Kliot, she founded three production houses in New York: Open City Films, Blow Up Pictures and HDnet Films, besides launching Made in NY Media Center by IFP, an incubation center for independent producers. She has produced more than 40 films, including several award winners, such as Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room and Three Seasons, and worked with various important directors, namely Brian De Palma, Alex Gibney, Steven Soderbergh, Hal Hartley, Todd Solondz and Jim Jarmusch. She has been the Executive Director of the Independent Filmmaker Project, the Toronto International Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. For three years, she taught Business of Film at the NYU’s School of Business.
The conversation centered on the role of female producers, executives and filmmakers in the independent film industry and the challenges posed by current crises, wars and political and ideological tensions to the processes of film-making and curating films for festivals. Vicente also shared some crucial advice on how to enter and navigate new spaces and different roles in the field of independent film and the cultural industry at large.
The Lisbon Consortium 