The Welcome Table - Josh Fox (Oscar Nominated filmmaker)

THE WELCOME TABLE, directed by Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Josh Fox (“Gasland”), tells the story of climate refugees across six continents, celebrating the voices and experiences of people living at the forefront of the climate crisis, displaced from their homes by climate disasters. Featuring John Boutté, John Cameron Mitchell, and celebrated New Orleans musicians, the film weaves together stories of migration and resilience through music, performance, and the installation of a 1,000-foot table along the New Orleans levee, where communities gather in conversation, solidarity, and celebration. From the United States to the Caribbean, Italy, Kenya, Peru, Brazil, and Australia, the film traces the devastating human consequences of a changing climate – from hurricanes and floods to droughts, rising seas, and the impact of extractive industries on Indigenous communities. Through intimate first-hand accounts, THE WELCOME TABLE captures the resilience and perseverance of communities amid life-altering upheaval and a world which increasingly chooses to build walls of exclusion in response. The film culminates in a massive singing celebration on the New Orleans levee, where a 1,000-foot table serves as a powerful expression of connection and resistance.

About the filmmaker - JOSH FOX is an independent filmmaker and founder and artistic director of International WOW Company, a film and theater company working closely with actors, filmmakers, theater-makers, writers, activists, and artists from diverse cultural backgrounds, including activist communities in sustainable energy and design, creating work that addresses current national and global environmental, social and political crises. Josh's work is known for its mix of gripping narrative, heightened imagery and its commitment to socially conscious themes and subjects. Founded in 1996, International WOW has premiered new work in 8 countries with a rotating network over 100 actors, dancers, musicians, technical, and visual artists spanning 30 countries on 5 continents. With International WOW Company Josh received a Drama Desk Nomination, an Otto Award, five grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, five prestigious MAP Fund Grants and an Asian Cultural Council Fellowship among many other awards and honors. As a filmmaker, Josh's work has been featured on HBO and Netflix and have premiered at the Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals. His debut film, Gasland, earned a Special Jury Prize at Sundance as well as an Oscar nomination. As a theatrical director, Josh established himself as a significant force New York theatre. The New York Times hailed him as "one of the most adventurous impresarios of the New York avant-garde," and Time Out NY has called him "one of downtown's most audacious auteurs," citing his "resourceful mastery of stagecraft."