‘An intellectual environment of ambition’: exploring questions of independence with film(-making) education in conversation with Ben Gibson

Abstract

This article presents an interview with Ben Gibson, former distributor, programmer, film journalist and producer, who went on to run the London Film School from 2000 to 2014. In this interview, Gibson deconstructs what is meant by the term ‘independent film-making’ in an educational context. Drawing on his wealth of experience in a variety of contexts, Gibson takes apart current notions that dominate in contemporary educational and industrial discourses, surprisingly arriving at a conclusion which could lead emerging film-makers and their supporters towards a notion of independence after all.