Jo Smyth is a BAFTA winning writer / director based in London and Carmarthenshire. Her short film Smile has garnered wide praise for its unflinching look at sexual assault and how the systems protect the perpetrator and vilify the victim.

Smile has recently won a BAFTA Cymru award as well as screening at such prestigious festivals as Aesthetica and Cork. Sue Vincent has also won Best Actress in multiple festivals for her central performance.

Jo writes / directs female lead stories that tackle challenging and often underrepresented subjects. Her last short, a horror film called Find You Here – screening at Grimmfest and Dead Northern among others – tackles coercive control in a same sex marriage

Whilst directing, Jo is an editor for television drama, credits include His Dark Materials, The Man Who Fell to Earth, A Thousand Blows and most recently, Dope Girls.

Jo is currently in pre-production on her latest short film; a feminist folk horror exploring menopause and domestic abuse called Trees, starring Amanda Abbington.