James Charles Frederick Quinn (23 August 1919 – 11 February 2008), was a British film administrator, producer and exhibitor. During World War II he was a Major in the Intelligence Unit of the

Irish Guards ("Who Shall Separate s") , colors = , identification_symbol_2 Saffron (pipes), identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = Tactical Recognition F ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. 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 The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

(1955–1964). Under his leadership, the BFI inaugurated the new

National Film Theatre BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. His ...

under Waterloo Bridge in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

(1957), launched the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and sho ...

(1957), 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 The 11th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 23 June to 4 July 1961. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Italian film ''La notte'' directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Jury The following people were announced as being on the j ...

. 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 Herostratus ( grc, Ἡρόστρατος) was a 4th-century BC Greek, accused of seeking notoriety as an arsonist by destroying the second Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (on the outskirts of present-day Selçuk). The conclusion prompted the creat ...

'' (1967), and Stuart Cooper's '' Overlord'' (1975).

References

External links

* 1919 births 2008 deaths British Film Institute British film producers Film festival founders People educated at Rockport School British Army personnel of World War II British Army officers {{UK-film-producer-stub