James Quinn

Who was James Quinn?

James Quinn, born James Charles Frederick Quinn, was a film administrator, producer and exhibitor.

He was best known as one of the longest-serving Directors of the British Film Institute. Under his leadership, the BFI inaugurated the new National Film Theatre under Waterloo Bridge in London, launched the London Film Festival, 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.

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