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Josh Fox

Josh Fox (born in 1972) is an American film director, play writer, and environmental activism. He is also the founder and Artistic director of a film and theater company in New York called the International WOW company. His activism is specifically directed towards the natural gas industry. He is best known for the film Gasland and followed that up with a sequel Gasland 2 on HBO. He has won multiple awards for his filmmaking, his playwriting, and activism and is one of the most visible figures in the anti-fracking movement.

Personal Life

Josh was born in 1972 and lived in Milanville Pennsylvania. Josh attended Columbia University and graduated in 1995. In 2008, Josh campaigned for Barack Obama’s presidential run. Soon after, Josh’s family was offered $100,000 in order to allow a natural gas fracking company to use his land in northern Pennsylvania. Curious of the situation, Josh set out to learn more about the fracking industry. After learning the truth behind some of the natural gas company's false positive claims, Josh set out on a mission to uncover them further, crossing the country visiting other fracking areas’ and seeing their drinking water conditions, birthing Josh’s anti-fracking activism.

Career

In 2008, Josh Fox directed his first narrative feature film Memorial Day. Memorial Day covered the issue of American party culture as it clashed with a war torn Abu Ghraib. Then, in 2010, Josh wrote, directed, and produced Gasland, and released it at the Sundance film festival. That film had huge success and was nominated for multiple awards. His next production was the HBO special Gasland 2 which aired on HBO July 2013 and was released on DVD in January of 2014. In addition to his work as a film director, Josh’s writing of over 30 plays and has created the International WOW Company. He has premiered new plays in eight countries with a network of over 100 actors, dancers, musicians, technical artists, and visual artists, whose backgrounds are from all across the world.

Activism

Josh Fox is well known for his opposition of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. When he isn’t directing or producing, he spends most of his time in Washington D.C. lobbying on behalf of the anti-fracking movement. He is specifically active against the gas industry’s exploitation of loopholes in the Clean Water act and the Superfund Act.

Filmography

Memorial Day (2008) - directed

Gasland (2010) – directed, wrote, produced

Gasland 2 (2013) – directed, wrote, produced

Awards and nominations

Filmmaking

For his Filmmaking, Josh Fox’s film Gasland was nominated for the Academy award for best Documentary, as well as nominated for four Emmy’s including best documentary, best writing, and best cinematography, and won the Emmy for best directing. It was awarded the Sundance film festival’s 2010 Special Jury Prize for Documentary. It was also nominated for best documentary screenplay by the WGA and was awarded the Environmental Media Association award for best documentary. [2]

Activism and Playwriting

Josh fox was awarded the 2010 Lennon Ono Grant for Peace by Yoko Ono. [2] For his playwriting, Josh has received many grants, awards, and nominations, including five grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, five MAP Fund Grants, a Drama Desk Nomination, and an Otto Award, among others. [3]