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Josh Fox

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See also:Josh Fox (basketball)
Josh Fox
Fox in 2017
Born
New York City,U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Filmmaker, environmental activist, playwright, theatre director
Known forGasland(2010),Gasland Part 2(2013),How to Let Go of the World (And Love All the Things Climate Can't Change)(2016), "Awake, A Dream from Stanging Rock" (2017)
AwardsPrimetime Emmyfor Best Directing Documentary, Oscar Nomination, Lennon/Ono Grant for Peace, Sundance Special Jury Prize
Websitejoshfoxfilm

Josh Foxis an American filmdirector,playwrightand environmental activist, best known for hisOscar-nominated,Emmy-winning 2010 documentary,Gasland.He is the founder and artistic director of a film and theater company in New York City, International WOW, and has contributed as a journalist toRolling Stone,The Daily Beast,NowThis,AJ+ and Huffington Post.

Early life and education

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Josh Fox rehearsing The Truth Has Changed, NYC January 2020

Fox was born in New York City and lived there andMilanville, Pennsylvaniathrough high school. He is Sephardic Jewish on his father's side and Calabrese Italian on his mother's side. His father was a displaced person, a Jewish refugee and an infant survivor of the holocaust, arriving in New York City when he was 8 years old.[1]He went to PS 6 in New York City, Wagner Junior High School and Columbia Preparatory School for High School. He attended Oberlin College for two years and then transferred toColumbia University,majoring in theater, and graduated in 1995.[2]

His band, The 3rd Degree, which he co-founded at age 14 withNoah Shachtmanwas a staple of the NYC Ska scene in the late 1980s, playing often atCBGB'sand other downtown NYC venues until their breakup in 1991. After dropping out of Oberlin College, Fox worked as an actor in Chicago in the early 1990s, and was featured in plays including Drunkboat withTracy Letts,Jim TrueandMichael ShannonatSteppenwolf theater,Goose and TomTom byDavid Rabeat the Theater Building, and The Love of the Nightingale directed byAmy Landeckerat the Next Theater. Beginning in 1994, Fox trained withAnne Bogart,andSITI Companymembers Ellen Lauren, Will Bond, Stephen Webber and Barney O’Hanlon inViewpoints,Suzuki and Composition.

Artistic career

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Fox giving aTED talkinWest Vancouver,British Columbia

Fox founded the film and theatre company International WOW Company in Chiang Mai, Thailand with a group of performers from New York City and Asia. He has written and directed over 30 plays with his ensemble.[3]Works include?WOW!(1996),This is Not the Ramakian(1997),Stairway to the Stars(1999),HyperReal America(2001),The Bomb(2002),[4]Orphan on God's Highway (2002), Death of Nations Parts 1-4 (2003-6),The Comfort and Safety of Your Own Home(2004),[5]The Expense of Spirit(2004),[6]Limitless Joy(2005),Surrender(2008),[7]andSolutions Grassroots(2014). In addition, Fox has written, directed, and produced seven feature films, and over 25 short films, which have premiered in New York, Asia and Europe. TheNew York Timeshas hailed him as “one of the most adventurous impresarios of the New York avant-garde”[8]andTime OutNY called him “one of downtown’s most audacious auteurs,” citing his “brilliantly resourceful mastery of stagecraft.”

In addition, Fox has participated as an actor, director, designer and writer in international theater collaboration projects in Japan, Thailand, the Philippines and Germany. He starred as David Conde in Yoji Sakate'sEmperor and Kissperformed by the Rinko Gun company, along with Kameron Steele, marking the first time that the company worked with a western performers. He was also the first western performer to work withPappa Tarahumaradance/theatre company, creating roles forWD(2001) andThe Sound of Future Sync (2002)which performed at the Setagaya Public Theatre and the New National Theatre in Tokyo. He created Heimwehen, Death of Nations Part V (2006) with Frank Raddatz, the former dramaturg ofHeiner Muller,for the Forum Freies Theatre in Düsseldorf. Fox was a collaborator of Filipino playwright, actor and screenwriterRody Verain the early 2000s.

In 2008, Fox directed his first narrative feature film,Memorial Day,an examination of Americanparty culture,theIraq Warand torture which was executive produced byJim McKayandMichael StipeofR.E.M.[9]In 2010, he wrote, directed, and producedGasland,one of the first major films about the environmental impacts of fracking. Gasland premiered at theSundance Film Festivalin competition, winning the critics poll and the Special Jury Prize for Documentary. The film is widely credited as galvanizing the anti-fracking movement worldwide, making fracking a household word. Fox later produced anHBOsequelGasland Part II,which aired July 2013 and was released on DVD in January 2014.[10]

On October 1, 2015, Fox's mini-documentaryGasWork,which detailed hazardous working conditions in the hydraulic fracturing oil and gas drilling industry, debuted onAll In with Chris Hayes.

In 2016, Fox directedHow to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can't Change,a personal take on climate change, the film features figures on climate change such asBill McKibben,Michael Mann,Van Jones,thePacific Climate Warriors,andElizabeth Kolbert.Fox was awarded his third Environmental Media Association award for Best Documentary for his filmHow to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can't Change,which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016, toured the world theatrically and was released on HBO in June 2016.

Josh Fox, Lauren Taschen,Floris White Bull,Frances Fisher,Rosario Dawson,Nomiki Konstat the Awake, A Dream from Standing Rock premiere atTribeca Film Festival( 2017)

In 2017, he produced, co-directed and co-wrote AWAKE, A DREAM FROM STANDING ROCK with indigenous filmmakers Doug Good Feather andMyron Dewey,which premiered at theTribeca Film Festivalon Earth Day, launched on Netflix and toured around the world. In 2018 he co-founded the AWAKE MEDIA FELLOWSHIP for indigenous youth with leaders Stephanie Cassidy, Doug Good Feather and others.

In 2018, Fox createdThe Truth Has Changed,a solo performance, book and film about misinformation, propaganda and psycho-graphic targeting aimed at manipulating our current media and political ecosystem. In the performance he tells of his frontline reporting with an emphasis on the smear campaigns waged against him for nearly a decade by the fossil fuel industry. The project has toured to over 25 cities in the US and Europe and has been seen by thousands of people in support of dozens progressive, environmental and grassroots organizations.The Truth Has Changedis Fox's first book, published by Seven Stories Press.[11]In January 2020The Public Theaterabruptly ended Fox's run onThe Truth Has Changedfollowing a dispute with the theater. Fox and International WOW Company staff including producer Diane Crespo alleged thatPublic Theaterstaff had physically attacked Fox while preparing for a show. Fox also alleged that festival directorMark Russellwas verbally abusive to him before shows. Fox and the company submitted formal written complaints about code of conduct violations and while pursuing these complaints the show's run of three remaining shows was halted. Fox was asked to meet with Public Theater Artistic DirectorOskar Eustisand associate artistic directorShanta Thakemonths later in hopes of finding a reconciliation wherein Ms Thake remarked "mistakes were made" by the Public Theatre staff.[12][13]The feature film version ofThe Truth Has Changedwas released in 2021.[14]

In March 2020, during the covid lockdown Fox launchedStaying Home with Josh Fox[15]a nightly interview program featuring guests from the world of politics, cinema, and music. Guests on the program includedCory Bush,Marc Ribot,Kim Stanley Robinson,Preston Reed,Jamie Margolin,Rebekah Jonesamong others. The show ran for more than 200 episodes onThe Young Turksnetwork in 2020 and 2021.

In 2023 premiered THE EDGE OF NATURE, a feature film about theanthropause,the moment during the covid lockdowns in 2020 where fossil fuel emissions decreased, having a measurable impact on the climate and pollution of the planet and theByron Bay Film Festivalwhere it won best Environmental Film. In 2024 Fox premiered the project atLa Mama Experimental Theater Clubas a performance and film that you watch at the same time. Fox performed the narration of the film live as well as playing the musical score by Dougie Bowne & Fox with songs byPete Seeger,with an ensemble of 12 musicians. The performances received rave reviews and support from notable people such asBernie Sanders,Steven DonzigerandSean Lennon[16]

Activism

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Fox is known for his opposition ofhydraulic fracturing,or fracking. He has campaigned for a ban on fracking and against the gas industry's exploitation of loopholes in the Clean Water act and the Safe Drinking Water Act.[17]

In 2011 Fox co-foundedThe Solutions Project[18]Fox was forcibly removed from the board in 2016 by Ruffalo and Executive Director Sarah Shanley Hope after he complained the organization was too heavily dependent on celebrity. All founders except Ruffalo were removed from the board in subsequent years. In 2021, The Solutions Project accepted 43 million dollars fromJeff Bezosand theBezos Earth Fundan action which was condemned by Fox as helping to greenwash Bezos and the large carbon footprint and unfair labor practices ofAmazon.[19]

In February 2012 Fox was arrested during aU.S. House of Representativessubcommittee hearing on hydraulic fracturing when he attempted to videotape the proceedings.[20][21]

Josh was advisor to Artists Against Fracking, Damascus Citizens and other organizations involved in the successful fight to ban fracking in New York State and the Delaware River Basin. Fox's films have toured to hundreds of cities worldwide helping to form the global movement against fracking.

In 2016, he worked as a surrogate forSenator Bernie Sandersas the Creative Director forOur Revolutionand as a member of the campaign's NY Platform Committee. He worked alongsideBill McKibben,Nina Turner,Ben Jealous,Jane KleebandDr. Cornel Westto pass an amendment to the Democratic Platform which addressedcarbon pricing,the phasing out of natural gas power plants, community involvement, and adopting the Keystone XL climate standard for all federal energy projects.[22]

Josh Fox performs at WDCD Mexico CIty 2021

Personal life

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In 2008, Fox's family was offered $100,000 in order to allow a natural gas fracking company to use his land in northern Pennsylvania. Fox set out to learn more about the fracking industry. After doubting some of the natural gas company's claims, he went on a mission to research them further, crossing the country visiting other gas fields. His experiences lead to his anti-fracking activism.[23]

In January 2020, Fox contracted Covid after completing his run of The Truth Has Changed in New York City. He began experiencing neurological symptoms from Long Covid in March 2020 and suffered symptoms until October 2021. He created the film The Edge of Nature documenting his experiences healing from the disease while living in a one room cabin in the woods of Pennsylvania. Excerpts from The Edge of Nature film were performed live by Fox at the What Design Can Do conference in Mexico City and Amsterdam. The feature film premiered on opening night at theByron Bay International Film Festivalin Australia in October 2023. Fox toldThe Guardianthat he was fully healed from Long Covid but that there are valuable lessons to be learned from the experience.[24]

Awards and nominations

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Fox was awarded the 2010LennonOno Grant for PeacebyYoko Ono.[10]

Gaslandpremiered at the2010 Sundance Film Festival,where it was awarded the 2010 Special Jury Prize for Documentary. It was also nominated for Best Documentary Screenplay by the WGA and was awarded theEnvironmental Media AssociationAward for Best Documentary.[10]

Fox was nominated for the 2011Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature FilmforGasland.He won the 2011Primetime Emmyfor Best Nonfiction Directing, in addition to three other Primetime Emmy nominations that year.

Gasland Part IIpremiered onHBOJuly 8, 2013 won the 2013 Environmental Media Association award for Best Documentary,[25]the Best Film at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival, and the Hell Yeah Prize from Cinema Eye honors. It was nominated for a 2013 News and Documentary Emmy.

How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can't Changepremiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016, and won the Environmental Advocacy award at the Washington DC Environmental Film Festival. The film was awarded the 2016 Environmental Media Association Award for Best Documentary,[25]Fox's third consecutive win in that category.

For his theatre work, Fox has received five grants from theNational Endowment for the Arts,five MAP Fund Grants,[26]aDrama Desk AwardNomination, and an Otto Award.[3]

The Truth has Changedwon best film at the Transitions Film Festival and the Montauk Film Festival in 2022. "The Edge of Nature" won best Environmental Film atByron Bay Film Festivaland the F. Lammot Belin Award for excellence at the NEPA Film Festival in 2023.[27]

Filmography

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  • Memorial Day(2008) – directed
  • Gasland(2010) – directed, wrote, produced
  • The Sky is Pink(short) (2012) – directed, wrote, produced, co-editor (with Matt Sanchez)[28]
  • Gasland Part II(2013) – directed, wrote, produced
  • Gaswork: The Fight for CJ's Law(short) (2013)
  • How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can't Change(2016) – directed, wrote, produced[29]
  • Awake: A Dream From Standing Rock(2017) – co-directed, co-wrote, produced
  • Staying Home with Josh Fox(2020–21)
  • The Truth Has Changed(2021) – written, directed
  • The Edge of Nature(2023) - written, directed, produced, music

Works for the Stage

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  • ?WOW!(1996) – conceived, directed
  • American Interference(1997) – conceived, directed
  • This is NOT the Ramakian(1997) – conceived, directed
  • The Sleeping and The Dead(1998) – conceived, directed
  • Stairway to The Stars(1999) – conceived, directed
  • HyperReal America(2001) – conceived, directed
  • Soon My Work(2001) – written, directed
  • THE BOMB(2002) – conceived, directed
  • Orphan on God's Highway(2002) – conceived, directed
  • Death of Nations Parts 1-5 - THE TRAILER, THE THAI PLAY, HEIMWEHEN, HOW TO LET GO OF THE SUN' (2003-2006) – conceived, directed
  • The Comfort And Safety of Your Own Home(2004) – conceived, directed
  • The Expense of Spirit(2004) – written, directed
  • Limitless Joy(2005) – written, directed
  • You Belong To Me(2006) – written, directed
  • SURRENDER(2008) – written, directed
  • RECONSTRUCTION(2010) – written, directed
  • Solutions Grassroots(2014) – written, directed
  • The Truth Has Changed(2020) – written, directed

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Twitter @joshfoxfilm".Apr 14, 2016.
  2. ^"Alumni in the News".Columbia College Today.2016-04-11.Retrieved2022-11-17.
  3. ^ab"International WOW Company".internationalwow.Retrieved2015-11-09.
  4. ^Gelder, Lawrence Van (14 March 2002)."THEATER REVIEW; 'Our Town,' Mass Nudity and Other Bedfellows".The New York Times.
  5. ^Zinoman, Jason (2 September 2004)."Home, Terrifying Home: The Not-So-Scenic Tour".The New York Times.
  6. ^Wehle, Philippa (Summer–Fall 2005)."A Wild Man of the Theatre: Josh Fox and His International WOW Company".TheatreForum.27.Archived fromthe originalon 2018-07-23.Retrieved2018-07-23.
  7. ^Alter, Alexandra (November 2008)."The Surge in Plays About Iraq".Wall Street Journal.
  8. ^Zinoman, Jason (2004-09-02)."Home, Terrifying Home: The Not-So-Scenic Tour".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2019-11-18.
  9. ^Lee, Nathan (2009-02-03)."In Josh Fox's Feature Film Debut, Revelers on Holiday Wake Up in a War Zone".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2015-11-09.
  10. ^abc"Gasland".Gasland.Archived fromthe originalon 2011-02-23.Retrieved2015-11-09.
  11. ^"The Truth Has Changed".
  12. ^"A Climate Show Was Canceled. Then Came the Finger-Pointing".The New York Times.2020-01-19.Retrieved2020-12-21.
  13. ^"The Public Theater Cancels THE TRUTH HAS CHANGED Due To 'Violations of Code of Conduct'".Broadway World.2020-01-18.Retrieved2020-12-21.
  14. ^https:// instagram /p/CW3_lvTAqjF/[self-published source]
  15. ^https://tyt /shows/stayinghome[bare URL]
  16. ^"Instagram".
  17. ^"The Fight Over Fracking".Rolling Stone.17 May 2011.Retrieved2015-11-09.
  18. ^Appelgren, Jessica (2014-04-11)."Talking Solutions: Q and A with The Solutions Project Chief Operating Officer, Jon Wank - Saatchi & Saatchi S".Retrieved2014-11-20.
  19. ^"Inaugural grant recipients of Bezos Earth Fund announced".
  20. ^Goldenberg, Suzanne (2012-02-01)."Josh Fox, director of Gasland, arrested at fracking hearing".The Guardian.London:GMG.ISSN0261-3077.OCLC60623878.Retrieved3 February2012.
  21. ^Banerjee, Neela (2012-02-01)."'Gasland' director Fox arrested filming House subcommittee ".Los Angeles Times.Los Angeles.ISSN0458-3035.Retrieved3 February2012.
  22. ^"User Clip: Josh Fox Unity Amendment | C-SPAN.org".
  23. ^"Josh Fox".WNYC.Retrieved2015-11-09.
  24. ^Chenery, Susan (27 October 2023)."Gasland director Josh Fox on fighting long Covid: 'The frontlines were inside my head'".The Guardian.
  25. ^ab"EMA Awards - Past Recipients and Honorees".Environmental Media Association.Retrieved2019-11-18.
  26. ^"MAP Fund | International WOW Company".
  27. ^"'The Edge of Nature': New Film Connects Crises of Covid, Climate, and Healthcare | Common Dreams ".
  28. ^"The Sky is Pink (short film)".film.20 June 2012.
  29. ^"Review: 'How to Let Go of the World' Ups the Ante on Climate Change".The New York Times.20 April 2016.
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