We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jo Ferreira. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jo below.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I did not want to say I’m a small-town girl who often gazed through the window, dreaming about going into another world through my imagination, but clichés are based on truth right?

I’ve always been fascinated by the power and magic of cinema. Telling stories for the screen. My favorite memories from my childhood are going to a small independent movie theatre which showed everything from classic to indie films and sneaking into my hometown’s library film section to watch horror films I could not watch at the movie theatre, because I was simply too young. [laughs] Then in high school, I ended up writing a poem which was published in the school’s newspaper. That made me really proud. That was the first time I wondered if I could be a writer.

I always admired novelists and I actually thought about writing a novel, but for some reason when I sat down to write it, it just didn’t feel right. Then later, I tried writing a screenplay, and it was just a lightbulb moment. Eureka. Painting images by using words. Art and Literature assemble! This is the right format for me.

When it comes to my stories, I love to write female-driven genre-hybrids. I’m also fond of looking at a genre and try to look at it in a different light.

With my pilot The Runaways, I wanted to upend the nature of the genre itself. If one goes back to classic and even modern noir, women are often objectified, depicted as either femme fatales or damsels in distress. The villain or the victim. No middle-ground. With focus on only one gender and one color.I wanted to write a story that upended that side of the noir genre, how minorities and women are portrayed.

When it comes to the tv pilot Voluspa — a Viking story about a mother, an ex- slave and shield maiden, and her daughter, but with hints of a Western, and the two of them go on a road-trip in order to survive in a ruthless, norse mythology fused world. So, with my writing I try to upend the genre, bring a new element to the genre itself from a female perspective.

What I’m most proud of is the person and writer I am now. I feel like I’ve grown so much. That I kept pushing no matter what, when in another time I would have just given up. A few years ago, I almost gave up on writing. Asked myself what was the point, wondered if I was good enough, if I was even a writer. But I realized even if I didn’t make it, I would continue writing. It’s who I am. My passion. What I love to do. So I decided to give it another go. This is why I decided to send my script “The Runaways” to American contests. I didn’t know if I was good enough, if I’d be able to “compete” with writers which English is their mother language. I’m proud that I decided to go for it, because if I didn’t I wouldn’t be here now, I wouldn’t be confident in my writing. So I’m proud that I took that leap of faith.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Cinema and Television are such powerful tools. They can really open your eyes. It’s like a window to the entire world. I read this quote by Kurosawa the other day “On the screen, we see people living in different parts of the world, and we share the full spectrum of their emotions and come to understand each other.” So I truly believe that cinema can inspire people to change their lives and circumstances. I think that’s the most beautiful thing about being a storyteller, be it a writer or filmmaker, by sharing your stories and inspire others, no matter you are in the world.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I was younger, I lived and studied Filmmaking in England. At the time it the felt this was a be all and end all moment. The only one shot I had to become a screenwriter. In the end, I had to leave the course because it was more focused on production and live television than I thought. Coming back to Portugal was really hard after that. I felt like a failure, feeling like I had disappointed my parents after all they invested in me, that I didn’t have what it takes to make it. A few years later, mid-way through a Bachelor’s in English Literature, I realized I just couldn’t stop thinking about screenwriting. So I decided to give it another shot. Could I, a woman from a small town in Portugal, truly have a future in the U.S as a storyteller? It seemed unlikely… but I decided to submit my TV pilot to a couple of American screenwriting competitions anyway, and to my utter shock, I managed to be a finalist. Several months later, I was even able to get repped with never setting foot in Los Angeles, which in another time I’d thought it to be impossible. So, I’m very proud of this moment, because I didn’t give up on myself, and decided to follow my passion for film and storytelling which seemed so impossible. I found out recently that I was a winner/fellow of WeScreenplay’s Diverse Voices competition.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joferreira1990/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100049352595984
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joana-ferreira-a57503140/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/joferreira890

Image Credits
Jo Ferreira