Jo Ho

{{Short description|British film director and screenwriter (born 1977)}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Jo Ho

| image =

| caption =

| birth_place = Dagenham, London, England

| occupation = Screenwriter, director

| yearsactive = 2002—present

| website = {{URL|http://www.johoscribe.com}}

}}

Jo Ho is a British-Chinese screenwriter, director and author, best known for creating the BBC series Spirit Warriors.{{IMDb title|1297357|Spirit Warriors}}

She has been credited as the first East Asian person in the UK to have successfully created an original television drama series. Spirit Warriors is also the UK's first TV drama series to star a predominantly East Asian cast.{{cite web|url=http://filmlondon.org.uk/news/2011/february/eastern_promises |title=Eastern Promises |accessdate=2011-05-12 |publisher=Film London |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725170207/http://filmlondon.org.uk/news/2011/february/eastern_promises |archivedate=25 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}

Early life and education

Ho was born in Dagenham in London, and studied Mixed Media Arts at the University of Westminster.{{cite web |url=http://www.dimsum.co.uk/features/introducing-the-fabulous-miss-jo-ho.html |title=Introducing the fabulous Miss Jo Ho |accessdate= 2010-12-01 |date=19 January 2009 |publisher=Dimsum |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120724105726/http://www.dimsum.co.uk/features/introducing-the-fabulous-miss-jo-ho.html |url-status=dead |archivedate=2012-07-24 }}

Career

Ho taught herself screenwriting by studying The West Wing and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.{{cite web|author=Jamil Hussein |title=Interview with Jo Ho, creator of BBC drama series, 'Spirit Warriors' |publisher=The TV Collective |date=2011-11-14 |url=http://www.thetvcollective.org/2011/11/14/5156/ |archivedate=4 March 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304102501/http://www.thetvcollective.org/2011/11/14/5156/ |url-status=dead }} She went on to work as a production manager on several projects, before writing and directing her first short film Isolation 9 in 2006. The film won the Audience Festival award at the Buffalo-san Short Film Festival.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898093/trivia|title = Isolation 9 (2006) - IMDb}} Her next short film Monkey Nut Tales, shot just two months later, was funded by the UK Film Council and Film London as part of the 2006 Digital Shorts Pulse Scheme.{{IMDb title|1105737|Monkey Nut Tales}}

In 2008, Ho was a judge on the BBC Bites Scheme, created to find and encourage British born Chinese writers.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110114231310/http://www.visiblechinese.com/website/profile/jo_ho Jo Ho]}} at VisibleChinese.com

After three years in development, Spirit Warriors began filming in 2009.{{cite web |url=http://www.dimsum.co.uk/features/interview-with-jo-ho---creator-of-new-british-chinese-action-drama-spirit-warriors.html |title=Interview with Jo Ho |accessdate= 2010-12-01 |date=14 January 2010 |publisher=Dimsum |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607035452/http://www.dimsum.co.uk/features/interview-with-jo-ho---creator-of-new-british-chinese-action-drama-spirit-warriors.html |url-status=dead |archivedate=2011-06-07 }} The series aired in 2010, on BBC HD, BBC Two, and CBBC, and was nominated for "Best Children's Programme" at the 2011 Broadcast Awards.[http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/people/broadcast-awards-2011-shortlist-announced/5021051.article Broadcast Awards 2011: shortlist announced], 30 November 2010

Ho herself won the Women in Film and Television's "New Talent Award"{{cite web|url=http://www.wftv.org.uk/wftv/awards.asp?menu=awards&clean_search=yes |title=Sky 3D Women in Film & TV Awards 2010 |accessdate=2011-04-14 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213033156/http://www.wftv.org.uk/wftv/awards.asp?menu=awards&clean_search=yes |archivedate=13 February 2011 }}. Retrieved 2011-04-13. and was nominated for the Cultural Diversity Network Award for "Best Breakthrough Production Talent".[http://www.culturaldiversitynetwork.co.uk/awards.php A Diverse Nation – The CDN Diversity Awards 2010]. Cultural Diversity Network. Accessed: 2011-04-14. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317193845/http://www.culturaldiversitynetwork.co.uk/awards.php |date=17 March 2011 }}

Known for her high concept work, following Spirit Warriors, Ho has worked as a storyline consultant on a supernatural BBC drama series Bishaash and has been engaged{{verification failed|date=November 2021}} to write three feature films: an action film, a teen supernatural romance and a dark fairytale. In 2012 she was working on scripts for on several original feature films{{cite web|title=Interview with Jo Ho |publisher=Words of Colour Productions |date=2012-07-04 |url=http://wordsofcolour.co.uk/Interview-with-Jo-Ho |archivedate=12 July 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712080003/http://wordsofcolour.co.uk/Interview-with-Jo-Ho/ |url-status=dead }} and several TV series including a big budget medieval series for acclaimed producers Morgan O'Sullivan and James Flynn (producers of The Borgias, The Tudors and Vikings)."About" section at Jo Ho's website.

In addition to screenwriting, Ho is also an author. WANTED, Book 1 of The Chase Ryder Series is Ho's first novel. With over 150 five-star reviews, it has been a best-seller in over 15 Young Adult categories on Amazon and recently won the YA Sci-fi category for the Readers' Favorite International Book Awards (2018). Her second YA book series, TWISTED, an urban fantasy serial about four troubled girls who discover they now command some super dark powers was published in 2018."About" section at Jo Ho's website.

Ho is a voting member of BAFTA and repped by The Dench Arnold Agency.[http://static.bafta.org/files/full-member-list-for-website-aug-09-24.pdf Current members of BAFTA (August 2009)] at bafta.org

The Independent noted her among "five to watch" in the context of ethnic minority writers for British television and film.Alison King, "Five to Watch" following [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/bonnie-greer-tv-needs-to-wake-up-to-minorities-or-end-up-in-a-museum-7866509.html Bonnie Greer: 'TV needs to wake up to minorities or end up in a museum']. The Independent,

20 June 2012.

Awards

Wanted, Book 1 of The Chase Ryder Series - winner of the Readers' Favorite{{cite web |title=Wanted |url=https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/wanted/2 |publisher=Readers' Favorite |access-date=26 November 2021}} Young Adult Sci-Fi Book Award (2018)
Winner of the University of Westminster's 'Contribution to the Creative Industries' Award (2018)
Winner of the Women in Film and Television's 'New Talent' Award (2010)
Spirit Warriors nominated for 'Best Children's Programme' at the Broadcast Awards (2011)
Nominated for CDN's 'Best Breakthrough Production Talent' Award (2010)
Big Ben Award for 'Outstanding Achievement by a Chinese Woman in the UK Film and Television Industry' (2009)
Selected for the acclaimed "Film London PULSE" short film funding scheme to shoot "Monkey Nut Tales" (2006)
Winner 'Best Film' for her short film Isolation 9 at the Buffalo-san Short Film Festival (2007)