Josh Taft

Josh Taft is an American music video director. He has directed music videos for the Stone Temple Pilots ("Plush", "Sex Type Thing", and "Lady Picture Show"), Nas ("This World Is Yours"), A Tribe Called Quest ("Award Tour", "Electric Relaxation" and "Oh My God"), Cypress Hill ("Insane in the Brain"), and Pearl Jam ("Alive" and "Even Flow") among others.He began his career as an influential part of one of the seminal creative movements of the 1990’s, and has since matured into a highly accomplished, award-winning filmmaker.

After graduating from NYU Film School in 1989, Josh Taft returned to his hometown of Seattle, Washington where he began shooting grassroots videos for his musician friends. Those friends turned out to be Mother Love Bone (the predecessor to Pearl Jam), Soundgarden, and other Seattle successes. Needless to say, the Seattle scene took off and Taft’s Pearl Jam videos such as “Alive” and “Even Flow” (featuring Eddie Vedder’s famous stage dive) were instrumental in spreading that phenomenon across the globe.

After forming his own company, Cowboy Films, Taft followed with videos for other alternative acts such as Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains; as well as a variety of many other artists and musical genres. He received several MTV Video Music Awards and Billboard Awards for his work during this prolific period.

With his authentic style and ability to reach discerning masses established, Josh Taft then made the natural segue to commercial directing. His spots for clients such as Adidas, Reebok, Nike, Energizer, Sprite and Nissan Xterra are among some of the most memorable campaigns of recent years. In 2003, he won a Lion Award at the Cannes Festival for his Nike “Stickman Basketball" and was a "Gold" Clio Award in 2004 for his Nike "Frisbee," "Hoops," and "Football.” This year he received another Lion Award for Coca-Cola “Round The Fire.”