James Quinn (film administrator)

(Redirected from James Quinn (BFI Director))

James Charles Frederick Quinn (23 August 1919 – 11 February 2008),[1] was a British film administrator, producer and exhibitor.

James Quinn
Born
James Charles Frederick Quinn

(1919-08-23)23 August 1919
UK
Died11 February 2008(2008-02-11) (aged 88)
UK
NationalityBritish
OccupationExecutive producer

During World War II he was a Major in the Intelligence Unit of the Irish Guards in North Africa.[2]

He was educated at Rockport School in Holywood, Co Down.

He was best known as one of the longest-serving Directors of the British Film Institute (1955–1964). Under his leadership, the BFI inaugurated the new National Film Theatre under Waterloo Bridge in London (1957), launched the London Film Festival (1957),[1] added television to its official remit, and initiated the regional expansion of the BFI.

In 1961 he was head of the jury at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival.[3]

After his departure from the BFI, he acquired the Paris Pullman cinema in collaboration with independent distributor Charles Cooper (1967). In the 1970s he also ran the Minema cinema, still in London. He also produced two feature films: Don Levy's Herostratus (1967), and Stuart Cooper's Overlord (1975).

References

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  1. ^ a b "Obituary: James Quinn". the Guardian. 26 February 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  2. ^ "James Quinn: Cultured, committed BFI director". The Independent. 23 October 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  3. ^ "11th Berlin International Film Festival: Juries". berlinale.de. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
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