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Remembering Film Independent President Josh Welsh
Josh Welsh (courtesy Film Independent. Photo: Michael Muita) Josh Welsh, Film Independent’s President, died December 31, 2024 at home following a five-year battle with colon cancer. He was 62.
Welsh began his association with the non-profit nearly 30 years ago, volunteering at its annual Spirit Awards in 1996 while working in L.A. as an actor. After joining the staff, Welsh worked his way up through various positions: Filmmaker Labs Coordinator, Filmmaker Labs Manager and Director of Talent Development. In the latter position, he oversaw and helped create all the organization’s talent development programs, including the Labs, Project:Involve and the Fast Track Film Financing Market. He also administered Film Independent’s annual grant programs, including the Sloan Producers Grant, and he oversaw the Netflix-sponsored FIND Your Voice competition.
Following the resignation of Dawn Hudson as President, Welsh was promoted in 2012 to the position, which he initially shared with Sean McManus. When McManus resigned in 2013, Welsh stayed as President until his passing. In a statement, Film Independent credited Welsh with “growing the staff, budget, programming slate, and membership. He also increased our international reach by partnering with the State Department on the Global Media Makers Program. His leadership was instrumental in shaping Film Independent into the vibrant, diverse, global champion of independent storytelling that we are so proud to be part of today.”
“We are devastated by the loss of Josh Welsh,” said Film Independent’s Board Chair Brenda Robinson in a statement. “Josh was a tireless champion of independent voices, a trusted arts leader and a cherished colleague and friend. The work we do at Film Independent has never been more necessary and we will honor his legacy by continuing to build on the foundation he established. Our hearts go out to his family.”
Prior to its 2005 relaunch as Film Independent, the organization was known as IFP/West, a sister organization to IFP, now The Gotham Film & Media Institute (Filmmaker‘s publisher). Commented The Gotham Executive Director Jeffrey Sharp, “Josh Welsh transformed the independent film landscape by building Film Independent into a global force. He was also a cherished friend to our organization over many years. I valued our regular conversations, especially during the pandemic when things were particularly challenging. He was the first meeting I took when I started my role in 2019, and I last spoke with him a few weeks ago. Throughout that time, he was a dear friend and valued colleague who made our work better, our community stronger, as he brought warmth and humor to every conversation. His accomplishments were many, the careers he impacted were immeasurable, and his legacy will continue to be reflected and celebrated at the annual Spirit Awards, where he always shined bright.”
Indeed, Welsh was well-loved by the independent film community not just on the West Coast but nationwide. Commented author, critic, director and executive Brandon Harris, a Filmmaker Contributing Editor, “It’s rare that a friendship begins with a rejection letter, but I first came to know Josh after he turned me down, with great care, for the Film Independent screenwriter lab in 2009. It was only the second personalized rejection letter I had ever received — Paul Sbrizzi’s from Slamdance a year before was the first — and so began a correspondence which eventually led to a real-life friendship I came to cherish in an often lonely, dislocating city. Josh welcomed me into the Film Independent community as a fellow and later in a variety of other ways, to Los Angeles, where he was that rarest thing, universally beloved. He persevered through a lot beyond his own illness — the killing of one sibling, the recent loss of another to cancer — and remained steadfast and cheerful amidst it all, setting an example that I was constantly in awe of. Independent film in this town lost its most eager and worthy advocate, as well as one of its finest people.”
As news of Welsh’s passing spread this week, artists posted remembrances across their social media feeds. Among them was producer and Film Independent board member Mynette Louie, who posted on Instagram:
I am devastated that the extraordinary Josh Welsh passed away on New Year’s Eve. He was one of the very first industry people to support my producing career when he invited me Film Independent’s Fast Track program in 2009, where I went from knowing literally no one to meeting 60 industry players in three days. The organization also gave my projects a post-production grant and fiscal sponsorships. Josh then put me on Film Independent panels whenever possible, making me seem way more important than I actually was. He shined a light on me in so many ways at so many critical moments in my life.
That kind of support for an emerging filmmaker with no familial financial resources or connections was absolutely everything. Then I was honored to have received multiple Spirit Awards nominations and two wins, including the $25,000 Producers Award, which kept my indie producer head above water until my next film got financed. Multiply my story by thousands of Film Independent Fellows—eventual Oscar and Emmy winners, bona fide auteurs, and prolific producers and showrunners among them—and you can begin to feel the weight of Josh’s enormous impact on the American film landscape over the past two-plus decades.
For me, it came full circle when I was invited to serve on Film Independent’s Board of Directors, where I was able to see up close Josh’s ability to lead and inspire with the utmost grace and humanity—always with indie filmmakers at the forefront of his mind and heart. He was an artist like us, after all. My own heart now aches and goes out to Josh’s family, friends, and the entire film community. We have lost a giant. May he rest in peace.
Also on Instagram, director Cherien Dabis remembered Welsh and his support for her own work through Film Independent’s programs:
So heartbroken to hear that the extraordinary Josh Welsh (@meatyard) has passed away. He was a tireless advocate of independent filmmakers like myself. I was a baby fresh out of film school when I met him two decades ago. I’ll never forget the day he called me to invite me to the 2005 Film Independent Director’s Lab. I was armed with my first feature screenplay but sitting on a mountain of rejections. No one had taken a chance on me yet. Josh was quite literally my first champion, the first person to love the screenplay for Amreeka and see the humor in my writing. His enthusiasm was infectious. He made me believe in myself.
The Director’s Lab was a game changer. It gave me the opportunity to direct several scenes from my screenplay and the confidence to convince others that I could helm my own feature. I went on to take part in other Film Independent programs thanks to Josh — from Project Involve to Fast Track to the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Independent Spirit Awards, meeting so many amazing people and fostering connections in the independent film community. The photos posted here were taken at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival’s special screening of Amreeka. Josh changed my life, helping to jump start my career, then continued to find ways to support me over the years. I will forever be grateful for his passion, conviction, commitment and ardent support.
And I’m only one person. Josh changed the lives of countless filmmakers both at home and abroad. He’ll be so deeply missed. Thank you for your vision and generosity, dear Josh. May your beautiful soul rest in peace and your legacy live on.
Speaking personally, I interacted with Josh regularly when IFP/West was this magazine’s co-publisher but also when a project I was producing went through Fast Track in 2008. Echoing those above, I deeply respected and found invigorating Josh’s passion for the work, his sincerity, and his down-to-earth quality. Through his ascent at Film Independent, he remained both accessible and committed, and I greatly admired how gracefully he balanced the tough job of administrating a non-profit, one with a multi-million dollar budget, while remaining invested in the lives and careers of the individuals that comprised his community.
Prior to his work in film, Welsh graduated with a Ph.D in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in philosophy from Kenyon College. He sang and played rhythm guitar in the band Meatyard, whose other core member, Welsh’s brother Philip, was its main lyricist. (Welsh continued to write songs using Philip’s earlier writings following his brother’s murder in 2014.) As the band described itself on its website, “We aim for hokum-free soulful twang. With songs built on simple, folky progressions, the band combines sharp, acerbic, and often morbid lyrics with strong, hooky melodies. We believe that if a song isn’t working, it probably needs more harmony vocals and slide guitar.”
Welsh is survived by his wife, Bonnie Gavel, and daughter Isla. A Josh Welsh Memorial Fund to support Isla’s education has been launched at GoFundMe.
This story has been updated after publication to correct information about Welsh’s education — he received a Ph.D from Johns Hopkins, not Princeton – and to add information about his brother Philip and his role in Meatyard.
