Fiona Finlay (born 1956 in London) is an English TV /film producer and writer. She received a BAFTA (1995) for her TV production of Jane Austen’s ''Persuasion'' and the Documentaries Special Prize at the Prix Italia 1994 and the 1st Mental Health in the Media Award for ''Black Daisies for the Bride'', a television film written by international poet

Tony Harrison Tony Harrison (born 30 April 1937) is an English poet, translator and playwright. He was born in Beeston, Leeds and he received his education in Classics from Leeds Grammar School and Leeds University. He is one of Britain's foremost verse w ...

about

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

Education and career

Finlay graduated with a degree in English literature from the University of Leicester and gained a postgraduate diploma in theatre studies from the University of Cardiff. She was awarded a Distinction in the Certificate of Higher Education in Arts Management from

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public university, public research university, located in Bloomsbury, London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal Universit ...

, University of London. She started her career in theatre as assistant director at the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester after a postgraduate diploma at the Sherman Theatre, University of Cardiff, and took part in the Independent Regional Theatre Director’s Scheme at the Gateway Theatre, Chester. Following work as assistant to the heads of New Writing and Classical Repertoire at the National Theatre she joined the BBC as a script editor and later moved to being a producer. In 2013 after a period of time working in the charity sector, film and television consultancy work and writing detective novels, Finlay launched the company Doorway Films to focus on drama, comedy and films.

Works

Productions include: * ''Happy Christmas I Love You'' (1989) by Carla Lane * ''Single Voices'' (1990) including monologues by Barry Humphries,

Roy Clarke Royston Clarke Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 28 January 1930), usually known as Roy Clarke, is an English comedy writer best known for creating the sitcoms ''Last of the Summer Wine'', ''Keeping Up Appearances'', ''Open All Hours'' a ...

Sheila Hancock Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. Hancock trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before starting her career in repertory theatre. Hancock went on to perform in plays and musica ...

and Carla Lane * ''Downtown Lagos'' (1992) by Leigh Jackson * ''The Sharp End'' (1991) by

* ''Black Daisies for the Bride''http://www.highroydshospital.com/galleries/black-daisies-for-the-bride/ ''Black Daisies for the Bride'' listing (1993) by Tony Harrison * the multi award-winning ''Persuasion'' (1995) directed by

Roger Michell Roger Michell (5 June 1956 – 22 September 2021) was a South African-born British theatre, television and film director. He was best known for directing films such as ''Notting Hill (film), Notting Hill'' and ''Venus (2006 film), Venus'', as ...

and adapted from Jane Austen by Nick Dear. In addition to Best Television Drama, Persuasion won BAFTAs for Best Music, Best Design, Best Costume and Best Photography. It was released by

Sony Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produc ...

in the cinemas. * ''After Miss Julie'' (1995) by

Patrick Marber Patrick Albert Crispin Marber (born 19 September 1964) is an English comedian, playwright, director, actor, and screenwriter. Early life Marber was born and raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Wimbledon, London, the son of Angela (Benjam ...

* ''Broken Glass'' (1996) by Arthur Miller * ''Danny’s Story – A life of Ecstasy'' (1997) by

Paula Milne Paula Milne is a British screenwriter. Her works include '' The Politician's Wife'', ''The Virgin Queen'', ''Chandler & Co'', '' Die Kinder'', ''Second Sight'', ''Driving Ambition'', ''Small Island'' and ''Endgame''. Her first single drama ...

* ''The American'' (1998) adapted from Henry James by

Michael Hastings Michael or Mike Hastings may refer to: *Michael Hastings (playwright) (1938–2011), British playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and poet *Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun (1942–2012), English-born Australian rice farmer, Scottish aris ...

Work for disability access

Finlay has been a longstanding advocate for disability access and widening participation and has worked long-term with adults with learning disabilities. She was a Trustee of the Poetry School (2010-2012) advising on disability and has worked with Martin Pollecoff on developing the ''Long Boat Home'',http://thelongboathome.co.uk/ The Long Boat Home an organisation for ex servicemen and women seeking therapy. There is a strand of Doorway Films in which in conjunction with her co director Dr Jane Simmonds, Finlay is developing medical films to help patients manage their conditions.

References

External links

Doorway Films website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finlay, Fiona British television producers British women television producers British film producers 1956 births Living people British writers