Phil Hunt

Phil Hunt isn’t just some suit hiding behind a desk at a film company. The guy’s fingerprints are all over indie cinema—he’s the Co-Managing Director of Head Gear Films, which, by the way, isn’t some tiny operation. They’ve pumped close to a billion dollars into more than 300 films. That’s not pocket change. And as if juggling that isn’t enough, he also runs Bankside Films and Bohemia Media. The man apparently doesn’t sleep. You’ll find his name popping up as executive producer, financier, distributor—basically, if there’s a way to get a film made or seen, he’s in the thick of it. He’s one of those rare people who actually pushes money into risky, weird, exciting projects instead of just talking about it at panels (though, yeah, he does loads of those too—he’s a regular speaker and even mentors up-and-coming producers at the National Film and Television School). You might spot him at the BAFTAs—he votes, obviously—or maybe hanging around the British Film Festival of Kurdistan, which, fun fact, he started himself. The guy’s got a thing for lifting up voices you don’t always hear from. Before all this, Phil was hustling as an ad and music photographer. Sometimes he still pulls out the old Hasselblad for a spin, just to keep things interesting. Back in the 90s he started making features on shoestring budgets, sometimes pulling off the impossible and getting people to actually watch them. Basically, if you’re talking about someone who lives and breathes film—from the art to the business side—Phil Hunt’s your guy.