Bio/PRinfo:
Joshua R. Frenk
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Joshua Raymond Frenk
Biography
Director
As a Director and Executive Producer, Joshua is inspired by exotic beauty that transcends form and function, As rhythm and cadence, the concrete and the ethereal. Intuitive, inquisitive and imaginative, Joshua's essence is deeply centered in creating art that inspires thought and arouses involvement.
Joshua was the Writer, Director, Editor, and Director of Photography for “Litter Creek”, a documentary on the pollution in one of Dallas’ favorite rivers that was later requested by The Turtle Creek Association. He co-wrote and co-directed the theatrical production, “Exploring Polyester” with Alan Keith, which was performed at the Dallas Theater Center in 2000 and won praise as “Best Theater Pick” by The Dallas Morning News. He also served as Writer, Director, Editor, and Director of Photography for “The Emotion of Image” a documentary on the life and work of photographer, Peggy Mazziotta that was debuted at the Visual Arts Coalition of Dallas Gala in 2004 and later shown at The New York Art Expo.
In 2006 Joshua served as Director and Executive Producer of “Many Paths, One Source”, a conference that brought together 40 spiritual leaders of Western, Eastern, Indigenous, and New Age Traditions, where he caught five full days worth of intensive conversation on topics as diverse as the environment, homophobia, healing between Christianity with the world’s indigenous people, fighting bigotry, the Divine Feminine as evident in all religions, and much, much more. He described the process as, “The purpose of this film is to open as many eyes and minds as it can. If it plays at least some small role in a world-wide paradigm shift that this world so desperately needs, if I have successfully captured their wisdom in a manner people will want to listen to and can relate to – then and only then will it have been a success." The film was invited to debut at Canada’s "International Film Festival of Non-Violence” in 2007 and Joshua was honored in 2008 for it by an invitation from The Southern Poverty Law Center for inclusion in The Wall of Tolerance, (a public tribute to those who have advanced the cause of tolerance), which is a prominent feature in the new Civil Rights Memorial. His film has received an invitation to be featured on DCCTV’s throughout 2009. The film is also currently serving as the basis for The Memnosyne Foundation’s Interfaith Education Program currently requested in countries such as Rwanda, Ireland and India as well as local education institutions such as Happy Hill Farm. The footage will also be incorporated into The Memnosyne Foundation’s Virtual Campus to make the information available to people worldwide.
In January of 2009, Joshua donated his time and talent as the Director of a documentary featuring the crucial outreach work of “The AIDS Services of Dallas” which was debuted to 1,500 people at its No Tie Gala and was later cited as being one of the main influences by donors to make a larger contribution than years previously.
Writer
He is currently working on writing the script for his first film noir work, “Fog and Darkness” and his written work will be published in the Blackfoot Nation’s Anthology “The Importance of Reclaiming Indigenous Values” as the result of his participation with other human rights leaders in the Blackfoot Nation’s Interfaith Dialogue. For fun, he is currently considering The Social Book’s invitation to become the publication’s Restaurant Critic.
Philanthropist
A Dallas Resident, Joshua serves as CEO of Thompson Fine Arts, Inc., which was nominated for NTBCA’s Obelisk Award for donating gallery space for the Visual Arts Coalition of Dallas, which represents more than 7,500 visuals artists and as Co-Founder/Vice-President of the John Philp Thompson Foundation which supports research on non-radiation/non-chemotherapy cures for glioblastoma (brain cancer) in honor of his father-in law who died from the terrible disease. The organization was Joshua’s original concept and he has played a crucial role in determining the direction of the grants made, including the first donation which went to Duke University’s Brain Tumor Center’s Immunotherapy program and the most recent donation which went to a joint project between John Hopkins’s University and the University of Milan.
Joshua also serves as Co-Founder/Vice-President of the Memnosyne Foundation an organization whose mission is to “help the diverse people of the world consciously encourage an evolution for themselves and for future generations by providing humanity with the means to encourage positive, peaceful global collaboration in all areas of knowledge.” and where he is currently following his passion for environmental concerns by also serving as the organization’s Volunteer Chair for Memnosyne Center for The Environment, Economics & Science and as the Board Coordinator for The Dallas Green Expo which will be occurring in April of 2010.
Aside from his leadership roles in these organizations, Joshua’s philanthropy and activism also extends to serving on the Board of Trustees for The People’s Empowerment Project, as a member of The Sierra Club’s John Muir Society, and as a President’s Circle Member of The Mexic-Arte Museum located in his home town of Austin, Texas. Together, which his wife, Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk, he has sponsored human rights, arts, and environmental programs which have accomplished projects both independently and via The Memnosyne Foundation, in Rwanda, Guatemala, Vietnam, Mexico, Tanzania and the United States, the most current one being the “Oak Cliff Earth Day 2009 Festival”.
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USA - Shore Public Relations P – 214.352.5111 F – 972.733.5000 E – jshore@pr.com
