Josie Ho Celebrates a Career of Creative Risk at BIFAN 2026
The 30th anniversary of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) became a milestone in more ways than one. Alongside a record-breaking lineup of 321 films from 50 countries, the festival celebrated Hong Kong actress, singer, and producer Josie Ho with the Fantastic Icon Award while hosting the world premiere of “The Mage,” directed by the Pang Brothers.
Strolling down the red carpet, Josie was accompanied by her husband, Conroy Chan, Iman Taheri, and the Pang Brothers. Other global heavyweights also graced the scene, like French artist Isabelle Huppert, Fan Bingbing, and martial artist Yuen Woo-ping, all in attendance to celebrate the festival’s landmark year.
The highlight of the night arrived when Ho took home the prestigious Fantastic Icon Award, presented to her by Korean actress and festival chairwoman Jang Mi-hee. Fan Bingbing scooped the Global Icon Award, and Isabelle Huppert won the Lifetime Achievement Award, making the winners’ circle the ultimate power-woman trio.
Ho’s acceptance speech carried both warmth and emotion as she reflected on the people who have supported her throughout her career. She thanked her husband Conroy for his unwavering support, her co-star Iman Taheri, and the team who helped bring her projects to life. She also honored her brother, her sisters Pansy and Daisy, and her late parents and sister Maisy, whose love and encouragement she described as a lasting influence on her path.
Wearing both her actress and producer hats, she gave her perspective on AI in the industry and confessed she is against it taking over acting gigs. While she thinks it can be a handy tool for tight budgets or fixing tricky reshoots, she firmly believes that artificial intelligence can never replicate genuine human emotion on screen. Josie Ho emphasized that the industry needs to value and properly pay human performers for their labor, no matter how high-tech movies get.
Between protecting the future of filmmaking and completely crushing it on the international stage, Josie Ho is proving exactly why she earned that Fantastic Icon title. We cannot wait to see what boundaries she breaks next.
Find Josie Ho on Instagram.
