Philip Alexander Gibney (; born October 23, 1953) is an American documentary film director and producer. In 2010, ''Esquire'' magazine said Gibney "is becoming the most important documentarian of our time". Gibney's works as director include '' The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley,'' '' Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief'' (winner of three Emmys in 2015), '' We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks'', '' Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God'' (the winner of three 2013 primetime Emmy awards), '' Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room'' (nominated in 2005 for

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosoph ...

); '' Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer'' (short-listed in 2011 for the

), ''

Casino Jack and the United States of Money ''Casino Jack and the United States of Money'' is a 2010 documentary film directed by Alex Gibney. Synopsis The film focuses on the career of Washington, D.C. lobbyist, businessman, and con man Jack Abramoff, who was involved in a massive corr ...

'' and ''

Taxi to the Dark Side ''Taxi to the Dark Side'' is a 2007 American documentary film directed by Alex Gibney, and produced by Gibney, Eva Orner, and Susannah Shipman. It won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It focuses on the December 2002 killing of ...

'' (winner of the 2007

), focusing on a

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...

driver in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

who was tortured and killed at

Bagram Air Force Base Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base , is located southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient Bagram at an elevation of above sea leve ...

in 2002. In 2019, he released his documentary ''

Citizen K ''Citizen K'' is a 2019 documentary film about Mikhail Khodorkovsky, written and directed by Alex Gibney. It is a film about post-Soviet Russia featuring Khodorkovsky, Anton Drel, Maria Logan, Alexei Navalny, Tatyana Lysova, Leonid Nevzlin, Igo ...

'', about Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

and the Russian billionaire exile Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Life and career

Gibney was born in New York City, the son of Harriet (Harvey) and journalist

Frank Gibney Frank Bray Gibney (September 21, 1924 – April 9, 2006) was an American journalist, editor, writer and scholar. He learned Japanese while in the American Navy during World War II, then was stationed in Japan. As a journalist in Tokyo, he wrote ''F ...

. His stepfather was the Rev.

William Sloane Coffin William Sloane Coffin Jr. (June 1, 1924 – April 12, 2006) was an American Christian clergyman and long-time peace activist. He was ordained in the Presbyterian Church, and later received ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ. In h ...

. After attending

Pomfret School Pomfret School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory boarding and day school in Pomfret, Connecticut, United States, serving 350 students in grades 9 through 12 and post-graduates. Located in the Pomfret Street Historic District, ...

, Gibney earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

and later attended the

UCLA Film School The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...

. Gibney developed an anti-authoritarian view from the journalism career of his father: "They say to succeed you're supposed to suck up and kick down. Well, he was the classic guy who sucked down and kicked up, which is never a good career path! He was at Time, then fired. At Newsweek, fired. At Life, fired." His stepfather was equally an influence on him. "There was something about my father, my mother, and then my stepfather, I think they all ruddered against authority in their own peculiar ways. And that probably rubbed off on me, too." He served as executive producer of the documentary ''

No End in Sight ''No End in Sight'' is a 2007 American documentary film about the American occupation of Iraq. The directorial debut of Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Charles Ferguson, it premiered on January 22, 2007, at the Sundance Film Festival ...

'' (2007). His film '' Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson'' (2008) is a documentary based on Hunter S. Thompson's life and his "

Gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose sta ...

" style of journalism. Under executive producer

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

, Gibney was series producer for the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

television series ''The Blues'' (2003) (producing individual episodes directed by Wim Wenders and Charles Burnett) and writer-producer of '' The Pacific Century'' (1992) (which won the News & Documentary Emmy for Outstanding Historical Program). Several films he directed and/or produced have been screened at the

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...

, Sundance,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...

s. In an interview with

Robert K. Elder Robert K. Elder (born January 20, 1976) is an American journalist, author, and film columnist. He is currently the President and CEO othe Outrider Foundation He has written more than a dozen books on topics ranging from the death penalty and m ...

for ''

The Film That Changed My Life ''The Film That Changed My Life'' (also known as ''The Film That Changed My Life: 30 Directors on Their Epiphanies in the Dark'') is a non-fiction collection of interviews compiled by American journalist, author and film columnist Robert K. Elde ...

'', Gibney credits much influence on his filming style to ''The Exterminating Angel'':

'The Exterminating Angel'' isdark, but it's also wickedly funny and mysterious in ways that can't be reduced to a simple, analytical explanation. I always thought that's what's great about movies sometimes—the best movies have to be experienced; they can't just be written about.

In an interview with David Poland for MIFF, Gibney disagrees with the

view from nowhere Journalistic objectivity is a considerable notion within the discussion of journalistic professionalism. Journalistic objectivity may refer to fairness, disinterestedness, factuality, and nonpartisanship, but most often encompasses all of these ...

, the idea that journalists can be objective:

"Objectivity is dead. There's no such thing as objectivity. When you're making a film, a film can't be objective.

Gibney's frequent documentary mode is the expository style akin to Ken Burns- in which the filmmaker relies on testimony from subjects involved in the subject matter and voice-over narration. Gibney's ''

'' premiered at the 2007

where it won Best Documentary. The film probes the killing of a taxi driver named Dilawar at

in Afghanistan. Gibney is president of Jigsaw Productions, which produces independent films, documentaries and television series. On June 16, 2020,

Imagine Entertainment Imagine Entertainment (formerly Imagine Films Entertainment), also known simply as Imagine, is an American film and television production company founded in November 1985 by producer Brian Grazer and director Ron Howard. Background Brian Graz ...

, a film, television and documentary production company run by

Brian Grazer Brian Thomas Grazer (born July 12, 1951) is an American film and television producer and writer. He founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with Ron Howard. The films they produced have grossed over $15 billion. Grazer was personally nominated f ...

and

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

, invested in and acquired an ownership stake in the company. Gibney has been honored by the Yale Film Studies program for his contributions to film culture. In 2010,

Utne Reader ''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne'') ( ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...

listed him as one of "25 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World." His 2013 film '' We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks'', is a comprehensive look at

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...

, Julian Assange, and

Chelsea Manning Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning; December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage A ...

. The Wikileaks organization itself has objected to the way Gibney portrayed it, and has posted a line-by-line rebuttal to the entire film. Gibney posted a rebuttal. In 2015, Gibney received the inaugural Hitchens Prize, awarded in honor of the late writer Christopher Hitchens. Gibney had previously collaborated with Hitchens on a documentary film adaption of Hitchens's book '' The Trial of Henry Kissinger''. Gibney's most recent projects include work on '' The Armstrong Lie'' (about

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong ('' né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 after recovering fr ...

), ''Catching Hell'' (a contribution to

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

's ' 30 for 30' series which looks at "The Inning" in Game 6 of the

2003 National League Championship Series The 2003 National League Championship Series (NLCS) was a Major League Baseball playoff series played from October 7 to 15 to determine the champion of the National League, between the Central Division champion Chicago Cubs and the wild-card qua ...

), '' Going Clear'' (a documentary about Scientology), ''

Dirty Money Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdicti ...

'' (doc-series that explores corporate greed and corruption), ''

The Looming Tower ''The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11'' is a 2006 non-fiction book by Lawrence Wright, a journalist for ''The New Yorker''. Wright examines the origins of the militant organization Al-Qaeda, the background for various terrorist attac ...

'' (fiction series based on the book by Lawrence Wright of which he directed the pilot), and '' The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley,'' which premiered at Sundance 2019. Gibney writes for ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', and has written for '' Huffington Post'' and other publications. He has been a resident of Summit, New Jersey.

Lawsuit

On June 19, 2008, Gibney's company filed for arbitration, arguing that THINKFilm failed to properly distribute and promote his film ''

''. He sued for over a million dollars in damages and stated that the film has grossed only $280,000.

Filmography (as director)

*''The Ruling Classroom'' (1980) *''Manufacturing Miracles'' (1988) *''Inside Japan, Inc." (1992) *''The Fifties'' (1997), television mini-series documentary *''AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies: Love Crazy'' (1998; TV special documentary) *''The Sexual Century: Sexual Explorers'' (1999; TV movie) *''The Sexual Century: The Sexual Revolution'' (1999; TV movie) *''Jimi Hendrix and the Blues'' (2001) *'' Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room'' (2005; documentary) *''3 Doors Down: Away from the Sun, Live from Houston, Texas'' (2005) *''Behind Those Eyes'' (2005; documentary) *''Time Piece'' (segment "Empire of the Pushcarts") (2006; documentary) *''The Human Behavior Experiments'' (2006; TV movie documentary) *''

'' (2007; documentary) *'' Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson'' (2008; documentary) *''

'' (2010; documentary) *''My Trip to Al Qaeda'' (2010; documentary) *''

Freakonomics ''Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything'' is the debut non-fiction book by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and ''New York Times'' journalist Stephen J. Dubner. Published on April 12, 2005, by Will ...

'' (segment ''Pure Corruption'') (2010; documentary) *'' Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer'' (2010; documentary) *'' Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place'' (2011; documentary) *'' Catching Hell'' (2011; ESPN Films documentary) *''The Last Gladiators'' (2011) *'' Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God'' (2012; documentary) *'' Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream'' (2012; documentary) *'' We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks'' (2013; documentary) *'' The Armstrong Lie'' (2013; documentary) *'' Finding Fela'' (2014; documentary) *'' Ceasefire Massacre'' (2014) ESPN 30 for 30: Soccer Stories *'' Fields of Fear'' (2014) ESPN 30 for 30 Short *''Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown'' (2014; documentary) *'' Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief'' (2015; documentary) *'' Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine'' (2015; documentary) *'' Sinatra: All or Nothing at All'' (2015; TV mini-series documentary) *''

Zero Days ''Zero Days'' is a 2016 American documentary film directed by Alex Gibney. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. Synopsis ''Zero Days'' covers the phenomenon surrounding the Stuxnet com ...

'' (2016; documentary) *'' Cooked'' (2016; miniseries, episode "Fire") *'' Billions'' (2017; TV series, episode "Optimal Play") *'' No Stone Unturned'' (2017; documentary) *''Rolling Stone: Stories From The Edge'' (2017; documentary) *''

'' (2018; TV series documentary, episode "Hard Nox") *''

'' (2018; TV mini-series, episode "Now it Begins...")'' *'' Enemies: The President, Justice and the FBI'' (2018; TV series documentary, episode "You're Fired") *'' The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley'' (2019; documentary) *''

'' (2019; documentary) *''

Crazy, Not Insane ''Crazy, Not Insane'' is a 2020 American documentary film directed and produced by Alex Gibney. It follows the research of psychiatrist Dr. Dorothy Otnow Lewis who studied the psychology of murders. It is narrated by Laura Dern. The film had its ...

'' (2020; documentary) *'' Agents of Chaos'' (2020; documentary) *'' Totally Under Control'' (2020; documentary) *'' The Crime of the Century'' (2021; documentary) *'' The Forever Prisoner'' (2021; documentary)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibney, Alex 1953 births Living people American documentary film directors American documentary film producers Directors of Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners Grammy Award winners Primetime Emmy Award winners People from Summit, New Jersey Place of birth missing (living people) Pomfret School alumni UCLA Film School alumni Writers Guild of America Award winners Yale University alumni Film producers from New Jersey