David Thompson
Biographical Summary
Born and educated in Cambridge (school and university), I moved to London in 1978 and worked in film distribution. After time spent as a manager and occasional programmer of the once-famous Electric Cinema Club in Portobello Road, I joined the BBC department which dealt with the purchasing and programming of feature films, where I ultimately ran the series known as The Film Club, mainly double-bills with special introductions by film-makers and critics.
In 1990 I switched to production in the BBC Arts department, directing films for Omnibus and Arena, including profiles of film- makers such as Roberto Rossellini, Jean Renoir, Quentin Tarantino, Milos Forman and Robert Altman, as well on other arts and music subjects. Throughout this period I was a freelance journalist and reviewer for such publications as Time Out and Sight and Sound, and was co-editor of Scorsese on Scorsese and editor of Levinson on Levinson and Altman on Altman, all for Faber.
I also wrote a BFI Modern Classic on Last Tango in Paris, and have regularly programmed seasons at the South Bank and chaired on- stage interviews. I am now a freelance film director and writer.
Supporting Statement
"Ever since I read copies of Sight and Sound in my school library, and made my first trip to the National Film Theatre to see Ken Russell's The Devils (it was banned in Cambridge), the British Film Institute has played a huge part in my love for cinema. For almost thirty years I have been an avid spectator at the South Bank. In my work as a journalist and occasional book writer, I've done the greater part of my research in the BFI Library. And as a documentary film- maker at the BBC, I made a tribute to the NFT on its 50th birthday and a co- production with the BFI, Silent Britain, which drew on the irreplaceable collection of British silent films preserved in the National Film Archive. As a result, my relationship with the BFI has been a close and varied one.
"So what of the future? I believe - as I'm sure most people in the BFI do - in film as an artistic medium in its own right, and one of potentially huge emotional and political impact as well as great accessibility. In the age of the multiplex, we need more than ever an alternative to the commercial sector to present films from all periods and nations on public screens. The history of cinema must not be relegated to titles in books and crudely diminished images on a computer screen. My experience of digital projection has to date been very positive, but the highest standards must always be maintained.
"As for the BFI's role in archiving and research facilities, I would obviously wish to see this strengthened, and that materials be as accessible as humanly possible. The value of the main library must never be under- estimated (contrary to popular myth, it's not "all on the net", far from it). A growth in regional mediatheques could make a difference. Books and DVDs - to boldly go etc - must be sustained alongside this commitment.
"Obviously it's high time the BFI had better premises. How unjust to be tucked under a bridge while the cultural bastions of theatre and music proudly stand on either side. But a National Film Centre has to be carefully planned to justify the expenditure. And in the meantime the BFI must not lose its current momentum in drawing audiences to its screens, keeping up a constant flow of restorations and rediscoveries, supporting the fringes of the industry, and putting on festivals and events. To state the obvious, films only truly exist when on a screen before an audience. And that's where the BFI can continue to make a difference. "
