NEWS

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) is the nation's oldest and largest not-for-profit advocacy organization for independent filmmakers.  Since its debut at the 1979 New York Film Festival, IFP has supported the production of over 7,000 films and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers, providing an opportunity for many diverse voices to be heard.

IFP believes that independent films enrich the universal language of cinema, seeding the global culture with new ideas, kindling awareness, and fostering activism. The organization has championed early work by pioneering, independent filmmakers, including Charles Burnett, Edward Burns, Jim Jarmusch, Barbara Kopple, Michael Moore, Mira Nair and Kevin Smith.

IFP represents a network of 10,000 filmmakers in New York City and around the world. Through its workshops, seminars, conferences, mentorships and Filmmaker Magazine, IFP schools its members in the art, technology and business of independent filmmaking. The year-round program includes an Independent Film Week, The Gotham Awards, Filmmaking Labs and Seminars, and a range of programs to promote racial, ethnic, religious, ideological, gender and sexual diversity.

IFP, often in collaboration with other cultural institutions, builds audiences by hosting premieres and special screenings.  The IFP fosters the development of 300 feature and documentary films each year. Recently, the organization licensed the popular Festival Genius software platform through which IFP now reaches over 200,000 film fans worldwide.
  

Joana Vicente has been the Executive Director of the IFP since December 2009. Prior to this, she and her partner Jason Kliot produced/executive produced over forty films by such acclaimed directors as Jim Jarmusch, Miguel Arteta, Brian De Palma, Hal Hartley, Steven Soderbergh, Nicole Holofcener, and Todd Solondz.

She has co-founded three separate and unique film production entities over the course of her career. Among the many films that Vicente and Kliot have produced are Tony Bui’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award-winner Three Seasons, Jim Jarmusch’s cult classic Coffee and Cigarettes, Niels Mueller’s The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Todd Solondz’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning Welcome to the Dollhouse, Brian De Palma’s controversial Redacted, and Alex Gibney’s Academy Award® nominated Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Vicente’s films have garnered numerous accolades and awards, including twenty-three Independent Spirit Award nominations and four wins.

In 2007, she was the recipient of the Made in NYäAward for individuals who have made outstanding contributions to New York City’s entertainment industry.

Vicente graduated from the Masters program at The Catholic University of Portugal with a degree in Philosophy and began her career as the press attaché for the Portuguese delegate—and former Prime Minister of Portugal—at the European Parliament. She later became a radio news producer for the United Nations before turning her attention to film.