Tonya Mantooth

A ten time Regional Emmy award winner with over 60 International Telly and ADDY awards, Tonya is perhaps the most highly regarded film producer based in San Diego. She began her career as an Executive Producer when she became the Director of Acquisitions for CRM Films. Tonya co-founded and was President of The Dakota Group, a highly regarded film and post production company in Southern California. Tonya produced National TV Campaigns and award winning documentaries for Fortune 500 companies.

In 2007, Tonya launched Mantooth Studios and expanded her production scope to include Computer Generated (CGI) projects and Entertainment Projects. Under Mantooth Films, Tonya has Executive Produced 4 feature films, including GRAVE SECRETS which became the pilot to the Nickelodeon Series, Dead Time Stories.

In 2012, Tonya and her colleagues took over the San Diego International Film Festival with a two-fold vision: To bring international cinema to San Diego and grow the San Diego International Film Festival as a significant contributor to San Diego’s economy. Today the San Diego International Film Festival has grown over 500%. The spectacular five-day Festival features 120+ film screenings, parties and a red carpet Celebrity Tribute honoring actors such as Annette Bening, Adrian Brody, Geena Davis, Sir Patrick Stewart and countless others. She is steadfast in her belief that, in our increasingly complex and divisive world, cinematic storytelling gives us the opportunity to find common ground through our shared human experiences.

Tonya is a current Board member and past Board chair for SDX (San Diego Ad Club), a member of Patrons of the Prado and recently won the prestigious Advertising Community’s top SDX Brandiego Award, voted North County Empowered Women to Watch and received the Philanthrophy Award from The Ten Best. Tonya graduated from San Diego State University with degrees in Business and Music.

[Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.]