Jo Ho

Jo Ho (born Dagenham, Essex) is a British born Chinese screenwriter and director. Originally from an art background, she worked her way through various production roles until eventually moving into writing and directing.

She had her first TV series commission at the age of 25, with DIM SUM, which was picked up by Channel 4 but never made it onto screens.

A few years later, Ho wrote, produced and directed her first short film, "Isolation 9", which went on to win the best film award at the Buffalo Black and Asian Film Festival in 20076. "Monkey Nut Tales", shot just three months after "Isolation 9", was funded by the UK Film Council and Film London as part of their digital shorts Pulse scheme. "Monkey Nut Tales" went on to screen at the BFI London Film Festival, in Shanghai and Beijing.

In 2008, Ho became a judge for the BBC's first writing scheme targeted at finding British Chinese writers, BBC Bites.

Most recently she has had her children's TV series, "Bo and the Spirit World", commissioned by CBBC. The show is an ambitious fantasy based on ancient Chinese myths and legends and stars a young Chinese girl and her brother, who along with their friends, enter into a mythical Spirit World in order to save the universe from the evil warlord Li and his Shadow Ninjas. Filming begins April 2009.

Bo and the Spirit World will be the first TV drama series, made in the UK that is created and written by a Chinese person. Fact|date=October 2008

Speaking on her personal ambitions, she reveals: "In addition to my Western projects, it is one of my aims to make films and TV series that show real representation of the modern Chinese experience, ones that are also compelling, commercial projects. The UK needs to start representing the Chinese population within it's media, both in front of and behind camera, and it is my hope that I will be able to contribute to this. I also hope to encourage more females into the film and TV industry, and in particular, those from an ethnic minority background."

Filmography

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/09_september/19/bo.shtml Bo and the Spirit World (2009)]
* [http://www.missjoho.com/monkeynuttales.html Monkey Nut Tales {2007)]
* [http://www.missjoho.com/isolation9.html Isolation 9 (2006)]

See also

List of British Chinese people

External links

*imdb name|id=0387311|name=Jo Ho
* [http://www.missjoho.com Jo Ho website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/missjoho Myspace page]
* [http://www.visiblechinese.com/website/profile/jo_ho Visible Chinese profile]