Ro Rao was born Rohit Rao, but then changed his name to Rohitash Rao on a dare from his pet elephant. His other pets found the name complicated, so they shortened it to Ro Rao, and that's what he goes by now. Soon thereafter he got rid of the elephant.
A 1991 graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, with a bachelor of fine arts in advertising, Ro has won many awards both as a staff and freelance agency art director, as well as during his stint as creative director at the SciFi Channel. His early work as a director included inappropriate films that involved sheep, monkeys, and
a giant clog of hair.
In 1994 Ro met a man named Abe Spear when they both found themselves peering down the same gopher hole. Eventually they teamed up to make stop-motion films and other animation projects under the name Ugly Pictures. They were included in the Saatchi New Directors Showcase at Cannes in 2005. Many of Ugly's short films and commercials have screened and been honored at dozens of film festivals and award shows around the
world, including D&AD, The One Show, Tribeca Film Festival, and Annecy. They have been written up in Creativity, Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone.
Recently Ro decided to break out on his own again as a director. He also recently adopted another elephant. Ro lives and works in New York City. His story isn't over, but we will now have a short intermission.
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