MELBOURNE, Wednesday, 9 February 2011: Madman presents the highly-anticipated DVD release of Palace Films’ GASLAND, the Oscar®-nominated documentary by Josh Fox, on 6 April 2011(RRP $34.95).

Part vérité travelogue, part exposé, part mystery, part showdown, GASLAND is a compelling and emotional first-person story of discovery and, ultimately, empowerment. GASLAND was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Documentary when it premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and has since collected a host of international awards, most recently receiving a 2011 Academy Award® nomination for Best Documentary (Feature).

GASLAND’s limited Australian theatrical release by Palace Films garnered a Box Office result of over $150,000.

In September 2008 theatre director Josh Fox received a letter from a natural gas company, offering him $100,000 for permission to explore his upstate New York property.  Rather than blindly signing on the dotted line, Josh’s curiosity compelled him to start asking questions.  He soon discovered that in the race for ‘cleaner’, greener & more efficient energy sources, the largest natural gas drilling boom in history has resulted in an environmental disaster of shocking proportions – flammable water that can be ignited right out of the sink, chronically ill residents of drilling areas all with the same mysterious symptoms, pools of toxic waste that kill cattle and vegetation, well blowouts and gas explosions – and the US government has not only turned a blind eye, it has regulated itself out of the picture.

GASLAND is a desperate plea for scrutiny of a powerful industry that has turned its focus on a new, and largely unexplored territory: Australia, where hydraulic fracturing, known here as ‘coal seam exploration’, is also the method used for natural gas extraction.

To celebrate the DVD release and Academy Award® nomination, Josh Fox is available for limited media interviews. Please contact Madman Publicity to secure your opportunity.  GASLAND will be available on DVD (RRP $34.95) on 6 April, 2011.