Josh Fox, November 2010
Filmmaker Josh Fox arrived at campus to explain his cross-country odyssey that led him from theater director to filmmaker and environmental advocate.
Josh Fox brought his film Gasland to campus on November 2, 2010. He met with students before the screening and with a large public audience in Emerson Suites after, to explain his cross-country odyssey that led him from theater director to filmmaker and environmental advocate. He was joined at both events by Craig and Julie Sautner, Pennsylvania residents-turned-activists who are featured in Gasland and whose water was contaminated by drilling.
This engaging, personal documentary has been instrumental in the growth of the movement questioning the safety of the gas-extraction practice of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.”Gasland aired on HBO in June, and led to Fox appearing on such programs as The Daily Show. On campus, Fox discussed everything from the film’s impact and his filmmaking choices to the steps needed to amplify the debate over fracking, when moneyed interests would like to blunt that discussion. Both Fox and the Sautners expressed a commitment to keep speaking out on the issue in the face of powerful opponents. As Fox rushed off to a fracking protest in Pittsburgh, I.C. students gathered in a corner of Emerson to discuss organizing around the issue in Ithaca.