Water movie under attack

By TOM KANE

HORTONVILLE, NY — Experimental filmmaker Josh Fox is too hot for the Town of Delaware.

His partially finished film, called “Water Under Attack,” documenting water issues related to hydro-fracking and natural gas drilling, was denied an airing by the town board. Fox requested that the film be shown in conjunction with a musical event in the town park in the hamlet of Callicoon.

He planned to show clips from the film on Dan Brinkerhoff’s portable movie theatre.

“After talking to my board, it was decided that the film was too one-sided, criticizing the gas-drilling industry without showing anything from the other side,” said Jim Scheutzow, town supervisor. One of his board members had seen a segment of the film and his opinion held sway with the other board members, Scheutzow said.

We want to be neutral in this gas-drilling matter, he said. “If the film showed both sides of the issue we would have allowed it. If a gas company came to show a film about their side, we’d turn them down, too.”

Fox showed his film, which is still a work-in-progress, to an audience in Narrowsburg at the gazebo next to the bridge on the New York side. About 200 people watched clips from the soon-to-be finished film.

Fox, who lives in Milanville, PA and New York City and travels internationally with his experimental film company called International WOW, is attempting to show the film clips in other local venues, like Hawley, Honesdale and the Himalayan institute outside of Honesdale.

Fox, who is also a theater director, spent over a year visiting gas-drilling sites in 32 states. “I am a director and producer of documentary films,” he said. “I do not consider this film about gas drilling as one-sided. It’s a documentary that doesn’t take a position but reports on what it sees. I have to admit that what the film shows is not good news because it asks a lot of probing questions.”

Fox said he thought the refusal by the town could be a first amendment issue, deemed a method of censorship. He expects to finish the full-length feature film by October. Film clips are available for viewing at www.waterunderattack.com.