Morgan Jon Fox (born June 19, 1979) is an American director, screenwriter, and editor from Memphis, Tennessee.
Named one of the "25 new faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine (2009),[1] he has directed 4 feature films which have screened at over 50 film festivals world wide, and have been honored with over 15 best of fest awards, gaining indie film notoriety, coming out of the Memphis film scene, which has produced filmmakers Craig Brewer, Ira Sachs, Mike McCarthy, and Kentucker Audley.
His debut film, Blue Citrus Hearts was named one of the top 20 films of 2003 by The Chicago Reader, and the Commercial Appeal. His 2009 feature, OMG/HaHaHa, took a record breaking 6 awards at the Indie Memphis Film Fest, as well as Best Feature honors from Chicago’s 27th Annual LGBT Film Fest, and Best of Fest selection for NewFest, New York. His films are distributed by Ariztical Entertainment, TLA Releasings, and Waterbearer Films.
Fox served as an assistant director and editor for Craig Brewer’s(Hustle & Flow) MTV web & tv series, $5 Cover, for which he was nominated as "best editor" at the 2nd Annual Streamy Awards in 2009.[2]
He's been working on a feature length documentary called This Is What Love In Action Looks Like since 2005, which profiles Zach Stark, and Refuge, the controversial teen program of Love In Action, an ex-gay ministry based in Memphis, TN.[3]
Contents |
Morgan attended the prestigious White Station Highschool in Memphis, TN, which has produced many highly successful artists, including Kathy Bates, and Andrew VanWyngarden. In 1999 he moved to Burlington, Vermont in an attempt to attend Burlington College Film School. He never attended a single class because financial aid fell through. He moved back to Memphis and began saving money and collaborating with friend, Suzi Crashcourse. They formed the film production company, Sawed-Off Collaboratory Productions in 2002, and went on to collaborate on several short films, and eventually two feature films, Blue Citrus Hearts, and Away(A)Wake.
Blue Citrus Hearts, became a huge film festival hit, screening at over 20 fests around the world, and won several best of fest awards, including Best Feature Film at the 2003 Chicago Lesbian and Gay Film Fest, Best Hometown Feature at the 2003 Indie Memphis Film Fest, Honorable Mention at the Berkley Video and Film Fest, and the Festival Director Award for the Advancement of Cinema at the 2004 Magnolia Film Fest. The film was picked up for distribution by American distribution company, Ariztical Entertainment.
His second film, Away(A)Wake was also distributed by Ariztical Entertainment and released on DVD in 2005. In 2005 Fox also began documenting events in Memphis, TN surrounding a controversial ex-gay program, Love In Action which a teenager, Zach Stark was being forced into by his parents after he told them he was gay. Daily protests occurred outside the organizations doors.[4] The documentary, This Is What Love In Action Looks Like premiered in June 2011 at Frameline, the 35th Annual San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.[5] In 2009, his third feature OMG/HaHaHa premiered at NewFest in New York city in 2009.[6] It won best of fest awards in Memphis and Chicago, with screenings all over the world. The teen-to-early twenties centric film, with a main character who speaks to the viewing audience through his webcam, gained Fox the title "The voice of the youtube generation" by Filmmaker Magazine.[7] The film was picked up for distribution by Waterbearer Films.
Morgan has also worked as an assistant director, and editor for Craig Brewer,[8] and has assistant directed film productions for Justin Timberlake, David Harris, and Alex Steyermark.