Philip Alexander "Alex" Gibney is an American documentary film director and
producer. In 2010, Esquire magazine said Gibney "is becoming the most important
documentarian of our time". His works as director include Going
Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, We Steal Secrets: The Story of
Wikileaks, Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Enron: The Smartest
Guys in the Room; Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer; Casino Jack and
the United States of Money; and Taxi to the Dark Side, focusing on an innocent
taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed at Bagram Air Force
Base in 2002. Life and career
Gibney was born in New York City, New York, the son of Harriet and journalist
Frank Gibney. His stepfather was the Rev. William Sloane Coffin. After
attending Pomfret School, Gibney earned his bachelor's degree from Yale
University and later attended the UCLA Film School.
He served as executive producer of the documentary No End in Sight. His film
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is a documentary based on
Hunter Thompson's life and his "Gonzo" style of journalism. Under executive
producer Martin Scorsese, Gibney was series producer for the PBS television
series The Blues and writer-producer of The Pacific Century. Several films he
directed and/or produced have been screened at the Cannes, Sundance,
Toronto and Tribeca Film Festivals. In an interview with Robert K. Elder for
The Film That Changed My Life, Gibney credits much influence on his filming
style to The Exterminating Angel: [The Exterminating Angel is] dark, 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. Gibney's Taxi to the Dark Side premiered
at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival where it won Best Documentary. The film probes
the homicide of an innocent taxi driver named Dilawar at Bagram Air Force Base
in Afghanistan. Gibney is president of Jigsaw
Productions, which produces independent films, music documentaries, and TV
mini-series. He has been honored by the Yale Film Studies program for his
contributions to film culture. In 2010, Utne Reader listed Gibney 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, Julian Assange, and Chelsea Manning. 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's most recent projects include work on The Armstrong Lie, Catching Hell
and Going Clear, a documentary about Scientology.
Gibney writes for the The Atlantic, and has written for Huffington Post and
other publications. Suing distributors
On June 19, 2008, Gibney's company filed for arbitration, arguing that THINKFilm
failed to properly distribute and promote his film Taxi to the Dark Side.
He is suing for over a million dollars in damages. He stated that the film has
grossed only $280,000. Filmography
The Ruling Classroom Manufacturing Miracles
The Fifties, television mini-series AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies: Love
Crazy The Sexual Century: Sexual Explorers
The Sexual Century: The Sexual Revolution
Jimi Hendrix and the Blues Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
3 Doors Down: Away from the Sun, Live from Houston, Texas
Behind Those Eyes Time Piece
The Human Behavior Experiments Taxi to the Dark Side
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Casino Jack and the United States of Money
My Trip to Al Qaeda Freakonomics
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place
Catching Hell The Last Gladiators
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks The Armstrong Lie
Finding Fela Ceasefire Massacre ESPN 30 for 30:Soccer
Stories Fields of Fear ESPN 30 for 30 Short
Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison
of Belief Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
Sinatra: All or Nothing At All References
See Also Anti-Catholicism in the United States
External links Alex Gibney at the Internet Movie
Database Alex Gibney video discussing his new
film on Lance Armstrong YouTube Interview with Alex Gibney at IFC.com
Plum TV Telluride Interviews Alex Gibney About Gonzo
Gibney Bio Alex Gibney at the Internet Movie
Database Gibney interview on Democracy Now!
Alex Gibney's Commercial Work "How We Torture: Alex Gibney in
conversation with Williams Cole" The Brooklyn Rail
IONCINEMA.com TIFF 2010 Viral: Alex Gibney's Client 9: The Rise and Fall of
Eliot Spitzer Appearances on C-SPAN
C-SPAN Q&A interview with Gibney about Casino Jack and the United States of
Money, June 13, 2010