Ben Hecking

Indie Screenings Guru
Location:
Crouch End, London
Day job:
Indie Screenings Guru (and sometime filmmaker)
Dream job:
To be a successful Director of Photography
Film:
The Age of Stupid
Time on the job:
6 months
Jet, jeep, bus or bike:
Bus (Although I do keep thinking about getting a bike)
Original connection:
I just applied for a job
Why did you get involved?:
I saw the film in April and applied for a job I saw listed on Shooting People. I didn't get that one but two months later I came back for another interview and was offered the chance to manage Indie Screenings.
Memorable moment:
Getting feedback from everyone who has held a screening and, on the night of the global premiere, seeing all of the photos coming in from the 32 Indie Premiere countries.
Scared of:
Before working here nothing. Now... not living past 2050.
Guilty of:
Buying too many DVDs
Planning to spend profits on:
Probably invest it in a film at some point
Will we save ourselves now we have the chance?:
I really hope so but I can't say for sure. There are a whole lot of people out there to convince that this is a real problem but if we all work together then...yeah. I hope so.

Biography:

A filmmaker at heart, I have been writing and making films since I was 14. I studied English at the University of St Andrews and, in my second year, I made a 90-min-long film called The Image Maker ('a much better film than the Constant Gardener', My Mum, 2004). I was the president of Rogue Productions (St Andrews Film Production Society) and helped to organise two film festivals. I was also heavily involved with the theatre scene and produced and directed a number of shows - including a sell out production of Jean Paul Sartre's "No Exit" at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Upon graduating I lived and worked in Edinburgh for a year - shooting a number of short films for an independent production company - before moving down to London in September 2007. I worked for the independent documentary production company Windfall Films as a runner for a year, before trying my luck as a freelance camera operator and assistant.

Six months later, after a period removing staples for 9 hours a day, I was rescued by Spanner Films and found myself managing Indie Screenings.

As of January 2010, I will be found studying cinematography at the National Film and Television School.

I've thoroughly enjoyed my time with Spanner, and with Indie Screenings, and am looking forward to seeing how it grows. It is such a fantastic tool for change, both in the types of films that are going to be on there but, on a much wider scale, it is a brilliant opportunity for exceptionally made independent films, which wouldn't normally get a distribution deal, to be seen by many, many people. Viva la Revolucion!