Jo Willems is a Belgian cinematographer. Growing up in Westerlo outside Antwerp, he studied film at the LUCA School of Arts, before he relocated to the United Kingdom at the age of 21. He made his feature film cinematography debut with Hard Candy (2005) directed by David Slade, with whom Willems would also collaborate with again on 30 Days of Night (2007). Willems would reunite with music video director Francis Lawrence on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), serving as cinematographer on following installments of the franchise for Lawrence as well as the spy thriller Red Sparrow (2018), the fantasy adventure Slumberland (2022), and three episodes of the Apple TV+ series See (2019–2022).
For his work on the horror film His House (2020), Willems received a nomination for the British Independent Film Award for Best Cinematography.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Hard Candy | David Slade | |
| London | Hunter Richards | ||
| 2007 | Rocket Science | Jeffrey Blitz | |
| 30 Days of Night | David Slade | ||
| 2009 | Confessions of a Shopaholic | P. J. Hogan | |
| 2011 | Limitless | Neil Burger | |
| 2013 | The Hunger Games: Catching Fire | Francis Lawrence | |
| 2014 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 | ||
| 2015 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 | ||
| 2018 | Red Sparrow | ||
| 2020 | His House | Remi Weekes | |
| 2021 | Finch | Miguel Sapochnik | |
| 2022 | Slumberland | Francis Lawrence | |
| 2023 | The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes | ||
| 2024 | Bando Stone & the New World | Donald Glover |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Gotham | Francis Lawrence | TV movie |
| Touch | Episode "Pilot" | ||
| Awake | David Slade | Episode "Pilot" | |
| 2017 | American Gods | 3 episodes | |
| 2019 | See | Francis Lawrence | 3 episodes |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Fancine | Best Cinematography | Hard Candy | Won |
| 2020 | British Independent Film Awards | Best Cinematography | His House | Nominated |
References
- "Jo Willems about Red Sparrow". Belgian Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- "Jo Willems ASC, SBC". My Management. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- "Jo Willems, ASC, SBC Curates ASC's Instagram". American Society of Cinematographers. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- Blair, Ian. "Dystopian Views". Directors Guild of America. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- "Jo Willems on creating the dream world of Slumberland". Belgian Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- Chow, Riley (28 April 2020). "See cinematographer Jo Willems reveals how he lit the show without lights". Gold Derby. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- Ritman, Alex (9 December 2020). "British Independent Film Awards: Saint Maud, His House, Rocks Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 February 2023.