Biography
Joanne has directed Academy Award, Golden Globe, Tony, and Emmy-winning actors in numerous feature films, including The Ultimate Legacy, Discarded Things, and Trinity Goodheart. Her latest feature, a period drama set in 1966 titled When We Last Spoke, stars Cloris Leachman, Melissa Gilbert, Darby Camp, and Corbin Bernsen. The film received the prestigious Austin Film Festival Audience Favorite award and premiered in theaters before airing on the Hallmark Channel. Joanne is a Nicholl Fellowship screenwriting finalist and a recipient of the Americans for the Arts workshop. She has directed over 30 episodes of true crime television, including Southern Gothic, FBI Criminal Pursuit, Ice Cold Killers, and Happily Never After, for cable networks such as Discovery ID, A&E Biography, and Lifetime. Her documentary work includes Charles Canon: A Mind for Business, The James B. Duke Story, Laugh at Us, and In the Footsteps of Elie Wiesel. Her films are available for streaming on Amazon and PBS. Recently, she completed two notable pop-culture documentaries: the award-winning audience favorite Purple Dreams, which premiered to a sold-out crowd at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and Lincoln Center in New York City, and Martin Hill: Camera Man, introduced by Leonard Maltin at its world premiere. This passion project features footage captured with Charlie Chaplin's personal 35mm Bolex camera, used for the first time in over 60 years by Joanne herself, showcasing iconic scenes from The Kid and Gold Rush. Known for breaking glass ceilings, Joanne continues to push boundaries and innovate within the evolving film industry. She currently has several screenplays and feature films in development.
