Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Winter 2008/2009 | Page 35

INTERVIEW

his quest for a good night’s shut-eye to
various faraway places of the world, along
the way meeting like-minded fellow
insomniacs who introduced him to every
sleep solution known to man, from the far
fetched to the further flung.
In the end, one can imagine that
the root of Freed’s sleep issues may be
found more in the life he leads than
anything else! In one of his early books,
Moonwebs, Freed took readers into the
frightening world of modern-day cults
as he joined the friends and family of a
young cult follower, Benji Miller, as they
risked financial loss and criminal charges
to kidnap Benji and deprogram him. The
book was made into the Gemini-Award
winning film, Ticket to Heaven, that is still
available on DVD today.
While making a documentary last
year, China’s Sexual Revolution, about the
new liberalism sweeping the bedrooms of
the world’s most populated country, Freed
and fellow writer/director Miro Cernetig
posed as tourists so that they could make
the film without the authorization of the
Chinese government.
Often using hidden cameras to
tell their story, the filmmakers made a
surprising discovery: In a country that
has a reputation for strong conservatism,
a sexual revolution reminiscent of the
western world’s free-love 60s ‘hippie’
days has emerged. But this new sexual
revolution is not just about sex. It is also
about power. In China, Freed discovered
a nation of liberated women who are
coming into their own, who are welleducated, seeking professional jobs, and
who will become a strong force in China
in the next 10 years.
Not all of Freed’s projects are sleep
inhibiting. On this side of the globe, he
is currently fielding a request from a U.S.
book publisher to develop a counterculture messy coffee table book. Freed
is also a veteran cabaret performer, (yes,

FREED’S
BOOKS:

that seems as out in left field to Freed
as it no doubt sounds to you) having
co-written and starred in Four Anglos of
the Apocalypse, a hilarious play on the
subject of Anglo humour in Quebec. He
is currently developing a new live stage
performance, The 25th Century Belongs
to Canada.
DRIVING THE POINT HOME
Freed is a past winner of the Stephen
Leacock Medal for Humour and the
New York Film Festival World Medal. His
documentary films have been seen on
CBC and CTV in Canada, PBS, A&E, Bravo
and Disney Channel in the United States,
and in over 50 other countries.
You get the point. With such a
curious mind and trailblazing approach,
Freed accomplishes everything he sets
out to do, and more. This is one busy
guy, both in mind and body. So, if you
ask Josh Freed how he finds the time to
dabble in so many fascinating projects
(besides sleep deprivation), his answer is
simple – an unrelenting passion to follow
his interests anywhere anytime. That’s
why he drives a 2001 Subaru Outback.
“It just suits me,” he admits. “It takes me

everywhere and anywhere, at the drop
of a hat and it’s got room for all my
stuff – my skates, my hockey stuff, my
bike, my tennis stuff – all of it!” He also
says he has sold many Subaru vehicles
to people he knows simply based on
surviving the Montreal winter of 2007/08
without ever having lifted a shovel.
“There was so much snow in
Montreal last winter it was staggering,”
says Freed. “I would drive down the
road past block after block of people
out with their shovels, axes, picks – it
looked more like they were working in
the Siberian mines than trying to get
their cars into their driveways.” As far as
Freed is concerned, getting stuck is for
the other guy. True to heart, “I pointed
my trusty Outback toward the snowbank
that was my driveway, and, under the
watchful eyes of my neighbours, every
one brimming with envy, I drove straight
on in.” In Josh Freed’s world, this would be
the most obvious solution as there would
be much more interesting ways for him to
spend his time.
To find out more about Josh Freed
and read a sampling of his entertaining
columns, visit www.joshfreed.ca.

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