Award-Winning Filmmaker to Lecture at Eastern

Written by Jack Meltzer

Willimantic, Conn. - Alex Gibney, Academy Award-winning director and producer will be speaking at Eastern Connecticut State University on Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Betty R. Tipton Room of the Student Center.  Gibney is the second guest speaker in Eastern's Ninth Annual Arts and Lecture Series. 

Gibney has spent nearly 30 years writing, editing, and directing films.  Several films that he directed and/or produced have been screened at the Cannes, Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals.  Gibney's films have been nominated for Academy Awards nine times, including his critically-acclaimed 2007 film, "Taxi to the Dark Side," which examines U.S. torture and interrogation practices of prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Gibney's work addresses many social and economic issues as well as  lighter subjects, such as those depicted in the 2008 film, "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson," a biography of the author.  This year, Gibney won the Yale Film Studies' Program Award for his contribution to film culture.

Gibney is currently working on the production of "Freakonomics," based on the bestselling book by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner.  He is also directing a new documentary about cyclist Lance Armstrong.  Gibney is president of Jigsaw Productions, a production company which produces independent films and TV mini- series.  He also writes a blog for the website Huffington Post.

Gibney attended high school at Pomfret School, earned his bachelor's degree from Yale University, and later attended the UCLA Film School's graduate program.

Tickets for Gibney's lecture are $10 for the general public.  To purchase tickets, call (860) 465-0036 or e-mail tickets@easternct.edu.  For more information about other upcoming Arts and Lecture Series events, visit www.easternct.edu/artsandlecture.