About Region Free

Founded in 2020, Region Free is an independent reader-funded publication and has received working grants from the Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

Region Free is the work of Joonatan Itkonen, an award-winning Finnish writer, editor, and critic working across film, games, and popular culture. Joonatan is also Editor-at-Large of KonsoliFIN, one of Finland's longest-running gaming publications, established in 2000.

Region Free is an independent, reader-funded publication covering film, games and popular culture. Founded in 2020, the publication has established a professional presence across international film and games criticism and is listed by Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and OpenCritic.

Alongside Region Free, Joonatan has written for publications such as Movies We Texted About, Hype Houston, Concur Magazine, FilmTopp, FILMHOUNDS, Debug Magazine, and Helsingin Sanomat.

Film & Games Industry

Joonatan is an active film juror and voting member of FIPRESCI and served as a juror on the FIPRESCI jury at the 30th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN 2026).

Joonatan is a member of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, the European Film Academy (EFA), the International Film Society Critics Association, the Online Film & Television Association, the Finnish Critics Association, and the Finnish Journalists Guild. He is also a voting member at the Grand Game Awards.

Joonatan is a published author and screenwriter. Their work includes the essay collection Grimmin Saduista Controliin and credited writing work on mobile games Hidden Heroes and Modern Mayor.

Read more of his published works on Muckrack.

To reach out regarding reviews, events, interviews, or anything else, send me an email.

As Seen On

Region Free is recognized as a unique voice in the world of pop culture criticism. Joonatan and Region Free are listed on Metacritic, OpenCritic, and Rotten Tomatoes.