John Gillett MBE (1925–1995) was a British film critic and researcher whose career at the

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

spanned over 44 years. He was also a programmer for the

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

on the works of

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

, early

Russian cinema The cinema of Russia, popularly known as Mollywood, refers to the film industry in Russia, engaged in production of motion pictures in Russian language. The popular term Mollywood is a portmanteau of "Moscow" and "Hollywood". It began in the Ru ...

and

Japanese cinema The , also known domestically as , has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2022, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced, producing 634 fi ...

, to name a few.John Gillett
BFI Collections Access Database. Retrieved 8 October 2016 He wrote film reviews for ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

''. With Ian Christie, he edited ''Futurism/Formalism/FEKS: 'Eccentrism' and Soviet Cinema 1918-1936.'' He was also an editor of ''Yasujiro Ozu: A Critical Anthology'', with David Wilson. He served on the international jury at the successful

15th Berlin International Film Festival The 15th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 25 June to 6 July 1965. The festival started selecting the jury members on its own rather than countries sending designated representatives. The Golden Bear was awarded to '' Alph ...

in 1965 and as jury member in July 1994 at the 29th

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (, KVIFF) is an annual film festival held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Eur ...

. In June 1994 he received an MBE for services to the British Film Institute. That same year he was awarded the Japanese

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

, Gold Rays with Rosette as recognition of his contribution to the appreciation of Japanese film and filmmakers. The certificate is just one of the items which form part of the ''John Gillett'' collection held by the British Film Institute. A film tribute of John Gillett's life was made in 1996 by the British Film Institute, featuring Leslie Hardcastle,

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

and

Sheila Whitaker Sheila Hazel Whitaker

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