Joshua Ashish Dawson is an India-born, Los Angeles-based, film director known for incorporating the built environment as an essential character in his films. In his body of work, termed "Speculative Climate Futures," he seamlessly melds CGI and live-action to explore water politics, resource extraction, and the impact of climate change on low-income communities of color. Dawson, a Master's graduate in Advanced Architectural Studies from the University of Southern California. He trained under Pritzker Prize-winning architect Balkrishna Doshi as well as Hollywood production designer Alex McDowell, founder of the World Building Institute at USC. This combination has led him to explore world building and storytelling as a design tool, re-imagining the built environment through interdisciplinary thinking and cinema.
Joshua's short films have premiered at festivals worldwide and have been showcased on platforms like Canal 180, the National Museum of Australia, and Vice Motherboard. Notably, his work has won the Jury Prize for Best Science Fiction Film at the Oscar-qualifying Cinequest Film Festival and a Core77 Design Award. His upcoming project, Bradbaori, has been selected for the London-based Future of Film Incubator. Recently, Joshua was honored with a comprehensive profile in The New York Times and interviewed by the weather channel.
Beyond his directorial role, Dawson extends his expertise as a World Builder and Conceptual Design consultant to Hollywood and international productions.
Official Film Festival Selections:
2016: AnthropoScene Film Festival, Sydney
2018 & 2023: Architecture Film Festival, Rotterdam
2019: Cinequest, San Jose, California
2019: Arquiteturas Film Festival Lisbon, Portugal
2019: Move Cine Arte, Sao Paolo, Brazil
2019: ArchCine Film Festival Rio de Janeiro
2019: Cinetekton Film Festival, Mexico
2020 & 2021: Fiber Festival, Amsterdam
2021: Chattanooga Film Festival, Tennessee
2021: Supernova, Denver Digital Art Festival, Colorado
2021: Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival, Brooklyn
2021: Plokta Film Festival, Netherlands
2022: FedaxValdivia Film Festival, Chile
2023: Sydney Science fiction film festival, Sydney
2023: FREIBURG FILMFORUM Festival of
Transcultural Cinema, Freiburg Germany
2023: Sci-Fi-London, London
2023: Climate Future Film Festival, Rhode Island
2023: Athens digital arts festival, Greece
2023: BNP Paribas Green Film Festival
2023: Sydney Science Fiction film festival
2023: Hudson Valley Film Festival
2023: Silbersalz Science & Media Festival, Halle, Germany
2018 & 2023: Architecture Film Festival, Rotterdam
2019: Cinequest, San Jose, California
2019: Arquiteturas Film Festival Lisbon, Portugal
2019: Move Cine Arte, Sao Paolo, Brazil
2019: ArchCine Film Festival Rio de Janeiro
2019: Cinetekton Film Festival, Mexico
2020 & 2021: Fiber Festival, Amsterdam
2021: Chattanooga Film Festival, Tennessee
2021: Supernova, Denver Digital Art Festival, Colorado
2021: Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival, Brooklyn
2021: Plokta Film Festival, Netherlands
2022: FedaxValdivia Film Festival, Chile
2023: Sydney Science fiction film festival, Sydney
2023: FREIBURG FILMFORUM Festival of
Transcultural Cinema, Freiburg Germany
2023: Sci-Fi-London, London
2023: Climate Future Film Festival, Rhode Island
2023: Athens digital arts festival, Greece
2023: BNP Paribas Green Film Festival
2023: Sydney Science Fiction film festival
2023: Hudson Valley Film Festival
2023: Silbersalz Science & Media Festival, Halle, Germany
awards:
2014: Kenneth johnson memorial scholarship (USC)
2016: Gesundheit travelling fellowship (usc)
2018: IGEN 50 architects and designers of 2018 changing our lifestyles and city skylines
2019: Jury Prize for best Science Fiction film at the Academy Award-qualifying
Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, California
2023: Core77 Design Awards - Professional Notable honor
2016: Gesundheit travelling fellowship (usc)
2018: IGEN 50 architects and designers of 2018 changing our lifestyles and city skylines
2019: Jury Prize for best Science Fiction film at the Academy Award-qualifying
Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, California
2023: Core77 Design Awards - Professional Notable honor
lectures/talks:
2018: USC ARCHITECTURE GENERATION NEXT
2019: ARUP-SPECULATIVE FUTURES LA
2020: WORLD FUTURES SOCIETY - WORLD BUILDING
2020: FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY - COLLECTIVE
& CRITICAL DESIGN THINKING
2021: DIGITAL FUTURES - ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
2022: COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF CHINA
2023: University of Michigan - MEDIATED URBANISMS
2023: West Edge Design Fair - How AI Will Revolutionize the D&A Industrial Complex?