Joanna started her acting training in Florence where she enrolled in a performing arts program at the age of 16, followed by an acting diploma, during which she took part in various theatre plays and short films. She then decided to move to New York where she attended workshops at NYFA and New School University. After going back to Europe, following her interest for music, photography and fashion, she relocated in London where she earned a Master’s degree in Creative Arts. She then decided to go back to acting and furthered her training at Central School of Speech and Drama.
After finishing her studies, she became a full-time performer and has since taken part in a number of theatre plays and tv and feature films, taking on both leading and supporting roles. She equally loves Europe and America and spends her time between London and Los Angeles.
We had the immense pleasure of interviewing Joanna. Check out the interview below!
Hi, Joanna! Thank you for granting the interview. You played in several leading roles. Your film The Unfathomable Mr. Jones is in post-production. That’s exciting! Tell us about your role?
Thanks for having me! Shooting The Unfathomable Mr. Jones was so much fun. It’s a comedy shot in the outskirts of London and it’s about a thief who, together with her extravagant group of friends is trying to reach a mysterious man named Mr. Jones and a series of bizarre events occur along the way. I play Elaine, one of her friends who in the beginning is quite fun and crazy and wears quite extravagant outfits but later on turns out to be quite bitchy and mean. It’s directed by a female director (Ice Neal) with whom I worked a few years ago on Eva’s Diamond, a thriller about black magic and a lot of the crew members are also back. I love it when I get to work with the same people with whom I get along well.
Your film Death Walks is available via VOD and has won several awards. Tell us about the film.
Death Walks is a zombie horror/ psychological thriller with some funny bits in it too. It’s about a group of people who work in a shopping mall in Romford, Essex who are trying to survive a zombie attack. I play the mall’s manager Alice who’s a quite stern and intimidating woman and who in the beginning is quite skeptical about what’s happening and monitors the situation from her control room but later realizes it’s not a joke and she has to fight for her life.
It did well at film festivals in the UK and internationally. It picked up 2 awards at the UK Horror film festival and several nominations at the Terror Film Festival and Puerto Rico Horror Film Festival.
This is a powerful film. What should the audience expect to see?
Scares, humor, a lot of blood, guns, suspense.. and zombies!
It also features the return to the screen of Italian actress Francesca Ciardi (Cannibal Holocaust) with whom I also have a scene in Italian. It was nice to act in your own language for once..even for just a few minutes!
You’re also starring in an action horror Beyond Fury. Tell us about the film.
Beyond Fury is such a great project and I absolutely love my role in it. It’s the final part of a trilogy written and directed by Darren Ward (Sudden Fury and A Day of Violence) and talks about a former vigilante who’s seeking revenge for the brutal death of his wife-to-be by the hands of a group of ruthless criminals. I play Arabella Andrews, a strong and hardworking detective who is trying to uncover the truth and who also has to work her way up in a very male-dominated environment and has to constantly prove that she can do the job as well as her male colleagues despite being a woman.
The film features some well-known actors in the horror genre such as Giovanni Lombardo Radice and Dan Van Husen.
You also starred in a short called The Painter, where you’re playing the title character. Tell us more.
The Painter is an art piece filmed in February in an art studio in East London. There’s almost no dialogue in the film, only sounds, and music and it’s about a painter who’s going through a difficult emotional time in her life after breaking up with her boyfriend. She decides to paint his portrait to somehow release the pain while having flashbacks of their relationship.
It was a challenging role from an emotional point of view as I had to access some quite painful memories from the past to build the character. I can’t paint very well but we had a very talented artist on board who did it instead so I only had to pretend luckily! It was shot by 2 very talented female directors. And this is a little note to say there should be a lot more projects directed, written and produced by women since most of the movies and tv shows out there and the characters in them are written and presented from a male perspective that as women, we often don’t relate to. Luckily little by little, it’s changing.
You’re also making your first film. Tell us more?
It’s a dark comedy inspired by a true story that happened between Germany and Italy a few years ago. It’s about a family holiday gone wrong and features some very quirky and funny characters, a bit like in Little Miss Sunshine. It’s still in early stages and I started working on it with my best friend over a year ago now. Still working on the script then we can go into production.
You continuously hone your craft. What keeps you inspired?
Everyday life, love, kindness, hard work, risk takers and..passionate people.
I believe you have to really be passionate and focused about what you’re doing, in this industry in particular. Passion is the key. It’s the fire burning inside you that you have to keep lit. If you feel like it’s burning out you need to find a way to light it again and you can only do it if you’re truthful, passionate and really believe in yourself and what you’re doing.
Do you have any upcoming projects that we haven’t mentioned?
I just finished shooting a new movie called Killer Looks in Los Angeles. It’s a thriller with some comedy bits in it directed by multi-talented Chris Krueger. I play Foxy, a girl who pretends to be a hooker to trade secrets on the street. And I shot quite a few commercials in the past few months, one for American Express that should be coming out soon.
Complete this sentence, if I had an opportunity to do anything I want, I would do ___________.
Bring more love to this world. It really needs it.
Connect with Joanna:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joannafinata8
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