Johanna Tonini – CEO Founder
She holds a degree in Image and Sound Design from the University of Buenos Aires (FADU – UBA). In 2002, she moved to Barcelona, where she began working in various areas of audiovisual production. In 2005, she completed a Master’s in “Advertising Production” at Ramon Llull University, Blanquerna School of Communication.
During 2008-2009, she balanced her work at the film production company Eddie Saeta (led by Luis Miñarro) with several courses and seminars in the sector: “International Co-production” organized by PAC (Catalan Audiovisual Producers), “New Forms of Audiovisual Distribution” offered by the SGAE Foundation, “Communication and Negotiation Skills” and “Marketing and Communication,” both offered by SDE/ICEC, among others.
She has worked for several Spanish production companies, focusing on film festival distribution, press management, and communication.
Among the films she has worked on, the following stand out: “In the City of Sylvia” by José Luis Guerín, “El Cant de Ocells” by Albert Serra, “Septembers” by Carles Bosch, “Bucharest, Memory Lost” by Albert Solé (Goya Award 2008), “Ashes from the Sky” by José A. Quirós (Earth Grand Prix, Tokyo Festival), “María and I” by Félix F. de Castro (nominated for the Goya and Gaudí Awards for “Best Documentary”), “The Pit” by Ricardo Íscar, among others.
In 2013 he founded Movies for Festivals, with the aim of accompanying producers and directors by distributing their films and documentaries at film festivals around the world.
Among the films he has distributed at festivals are: “The Plague” by Neus Ballús (Spain, 2013), which premiered at the 63rd Berlinale and has participated in over a hundred festivals to date; “Favula” by Raúl Perrone (Argentina, 2014), which began its journey at the 67th Locarno Film Festival; “One Day I Saw 10,000 Elephants” by Alex Guimerà (Spain, 2015), which premiered at the 63rd San Sebastián Festival and was featured at Mar del Plata Film Festival and PÖFF Tallinn Black Nights; “Socotra, the Island of the Genies” by Jordi Esteva (Spain, 2016), which premiered as the only Spanish film in the International Competition at Visions du Réel (Nyon) and also screened at Málaga, DocumentaMadrid, CinEspaña Toulouse, Mar del Plata FF, and more; “Witkin Witkin” by Trisha Ziff (HotDocs, AFIDocs, DocFest, etc.); and “I Hate New York” by Gustavo Sánchez, produced by J.A. Bayona, which premiered at the Málaga Festival and screened at San Sebastián, SEMINCI, Raindance (UK), New York LGBT Festival, Florence Queer FF, and others.
He balances his work at Movies for Festivals with serving as a jury member for documentary sections at various festivals, as well as participating in industry activities such as consulting, speed meetings, one-to-one meetings, and offering tutorials or workshops.
Currently, the Movies for Festivals catalog is represented at national and international festivals and markets such as: EFM Berlin, Visions du Réel, Agora Market (Greece), Marché du Film de Cannes, Locarno Pro, Industry Days San Sebastián, Ventana Sur, and more.