David Thompson
Freelancer and BFI governor David Thompson reflects on his use of film archives and libraries in his work, for television, in journalism and editing books on major filmmakers:
"My first direct experience of the BFI was a trip to London in the early 1970s to see Ken Russell's The Devils at the NFT - the film was banned in my home town of Cambridge! Of course, having caught the movie bug, I was already devouring the BFI's Sight and Sound, and by the time I settled in London in late 1978 I was regularly attending screenings on the South Bank. After working in film distribution, exhibition (at least three years at the then fabled repertory cinema, the Electric in Portobello Road) and journalism, I joined the BBC in 1983 to assist with the programming of feature films. At that time it was quite a creative job, involving film seasons (yes!), and eventually led to making short programmes to accompany the movies. After supervising The Film Club - world cinema shown with short introductions by critics and film-makers - I graduated to making longer documentaries in the BBC Arts Department in 1990, where I stayed until last year, when I joined the growing multitude of freelancers.
"The majority of the films I have made have focussed on the cinema, especially through portraits of film-makers. These have included Roberto Rossellini, Peter Greenaway, Jean Renoir, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Verhoeven, Milos Forman, Robert Altman and Ingmar Bergman. A very diverse bunch. At the same time I have enjoyed the privilege of editing books on directors such as the best-selling Scorsese on Scorsese (working with Ian Christie), the not so well-selling Levinson on Levinson, and most rewarding of all, Altman on Altman. I also wrote a BFI Modern Classic on Last Tango in Paris (now out of print). All this time I have also kept up a modest amount of film journalism, most recently for Film Comment and - coming full circle - Sight and Sound.
"There's no question that the BFI National Library has proved invaluable in all these projects. Where else can be accessed the multitude of film journals and books which have helped in my research? I suppose I am a latecomer to the internet, but fast as it is, so much is well out of reach, while I know for certain I can find it at the library in Stephen Street. I also recently made a film in collaboration with the BFI National Archive on Britain's neglected silent era - Silent Britain - which brought me even closer to the BFI's unique holdings. Now, as a member-elected Governor, I hope to see the Library and Collections maintained as one of the glories of this organisation."
David Thompson took up his post as member governor of the BFI in January 2009. His publications include:
Altman on Altman (Faber & Faber, 2006) [ed.]
Jean Renoir: letters (Faber & Faber, 1994) [ed. with Lorraine LoBianco]
BFI Modern Classics: Last Tango in Paris (BFI, 1998)
Levinson on Levinson (Faber & Faber, 1992) [ed.]
Scorsese on Scorsese (Faber & Faber, 1996 - revised edition) [ed. with Ian Christie]
