Jo Willems, a renowned Belgian cinematographer, hails from Westerlo, a charming town situated just outside Antwerp, where he first nurtured his passion for filmmaking. As a young adult, Willems pursued his dream by enrolling in the LUCA School of Arts, where he honed his skills in the craft. Following his studies, at the tender age of 21, Willems made the bold decision to relocate to the United Kingdom, marking the beginning of an illustrious career in the film industry.
Willems' feature film cinematography debut arrived with the 2005 thriller Hard Candy, directed by the talented David Slade, with whom he would collaborate again on the 2007 vampire horror film 30 Days of Night. This fruitful partnership would continue as Willems reunited with music video director Francis Lawrence on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013),a role he would reprise for subsequent installments of the franchise, as well as for the spy thriller Red Sparrow (2018),the fantasy adventure Slumberland (2022),and three episodes of the Apple TV+ series See (2019-2022).
Willems' impressive body of work has garnered recognition, with a nomination for the British Independent Film Award for Best Cinematography for his eerie and atmospheric work on the 2020 horror film His House.
