Joe Atkinson
Filmmaker | Screenwriter | Editor
Joe Atkinson earned his Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Ohio University, his Master of Public Service Administration from the University of Evansville, and his Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Stage & Screen at the University of Nebraska Omaha.
He began writing screenplays as an undergraduate, with his first produced script, Reality, going in front of the camera in 2010. He followed that film with a 10-episode web series, The Book of Dallas, which earned nearly 2 million views through a distribution deal with KoldCast TV. In the ensuing years, he has written feature film projects for Cinephreak Pictures, Rossetti Productions, and TPT Productions, while also writing and directing the short films The Last Day, Post Trauma, and The Wedding Application for his own production company, Court Street Productions.
Atkinson also is an award-winning documentary filmmaker; his first documentary feature, From the Ashes: The University of Evansville Purple Aces, was named Best Feature at the 2018 Mayday Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Historical Documentary by the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He also has directed has co-produced the WNIN Tri-State Public Media documentary series Evansville at War, and has independently produced and directed the five-episode documentary series Epidemic: Addiction in Middle America, which was nominated for an Ohio Valley Emmy Award for Best Social Documentary.
After successful stints directing Jennifer Haley’s The Nether and Annie Baker’s Circle Mirror Transformation at Evansville Civic Theatre, Atkinson wrote his first full-length stage play, Hope, in 2021. He recently has begun the process of submitting the play, along with his second stage play, Parley, for workshop and/or production.
Atkinson serves as assistant professor of communication at the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana, where he lives with his wife and two children.