Joe Gantz
Joe Gantz is a documentary filmmaker, TV producer, author, and social activist. His HBO film American Winter, about the human impact of poverty and the shrinking middle class in America, had a big part in the movement across the country to raise the minimum wage. Joe is known for the 14 year-long, Emmy winning, HBO series Taxicab Confessions which revealed the voice and heart of people of every background, telling their stories simply and honestly in the backseat of a cab. The series celebrated our differences and our commonalities, inspiring people to call Taxicab Confessions the most authentic show on television. Joe is currently finishing a new documentary, The Race to Save the World, on people who are in the trenches fighting climate change, often at great personal risk, to fight for a livable future.
Joe’s films have won the Sidney Award for excellence in journalism, the Bending Towards Justice award, the Best of Workers Unite Film Festival, and Best Doc at the Portland Film Festival. Joe was also short-listed for the Ridenhour prize which recognizes those who persevere in acts of truth-telling that protect the public interest or illuminate a more just vision of society. 40 years ago, he published Whose Child Cries, a book documenting the lives of the first American families living in openly gay homes. In 2022, he published updates from the families in a book entitled, A Secret I Can't Tell, about which Brett Karr, author of Who’s Been Sleeping in Your Head? said; "In this gripping book, Joe Gantz has chronicled his pioneering research work, providing us with a detailed portrait of the lives and minds of those who challenged the unquestioned standards of yesteryear. As both a psychotherapist and a sexologist, I hold this iconic book in very high regard indeed.” , here is a recently published an article about the book and Joe's view on the latest "Don't Say Gay" campaign. Recently, he published an opinion piece in The Hill, entitled, "Money is an addiction - and we need an intervention" on how "Addiction is a disease, unfortunately addiction to money is a disease that is killing everyone."
Find out more about American Winter here.
Find out more about Race to Save the world here
Joe’s films have won the Sidney Award for excellence in journalism, the Bending Towards Justice award, the Best of Workers Unite Film Festival, and Best Doc at the Portland Film Festival. Joe was also short-listed for the Ridenhour prize which recognizes those who persevere in acts of truth-telling that protect the public interest or illuminate a more just vision of society. 40 years ago, he published Whose Child Cries, a book documenting the lives of the first American families living in openly gay homes. In 2022, he published updates from the families in a book entitled, A Secret I Can't Tell, about which Brett Karr, author of Who’s Been Sleeping in Your Head? said; "In this gripping book, Joe Gantz has chronicled his pioneering research work, providing us with a detailed portrait of the lives and minds of those who challenged the unquestioned standards of yesteryear. As both a psychotherapist and a sexologist, I hold this iconic book in very high regard indeed.” , here is a recently published an article about the book and Joe's view on the latest "Don't Say Gay" campaign. Recently, he published an opinion piece in The Hill, entitled, "Money is an addiction - and we need an intervention" on how "Addiction is a disease, unfortunately addiction to money is a disease that is killing everyone."
Find out more about American Winter here.
Find out more about Race to Save the world here