Nigel Lucius Graeme Finch (1 August 1949 – 14 February 1995) was an English film director and filmmaker whose career influenced the growth of British gay cinema.

Biography

Nigel Finch was born in Tenterden, Kent, the son of Graham and Tibby Finch, and raised in Bromley, south east London. He studied art history at the University of Sussex. Finch began working as co-editor for the BBC television documentary series '' Arena'' in the early 1970s. He produced and directed many notable programs including ''My Way'' (1978), and ''The Private Life of the Ford Cortina'' (1982). He rose to prominence with the documentary ''Chelsea Hotel'' (1981), which profiled the famed

New York hotel The New York Hotel is a heritage-listed former hotel located at 153-155 George Street in the inner city Sydney suburb of The Rocks in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was built during 1908. It is now ...

and its legacy of famous gay guests, including

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

, Tennessee Williams, William S. Burroughs, Quentin Crisp and Andy Warhol. His documentary subjects include artist

Robert Mapplethorpe Robert Michael Mapplethorpe (; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-p ...

(1988), filmmaker Kenneth Anger (1991), and artist Louise Bourgeois (1994). Finch went on to direct films such as the BAFTA-nominated drama ''

The Lost Language of Cranes ''The Lost Language of Cranes'' is a novel by David Leavitt, first published in 1986. A British TV film of the novel was made in 1991. The film was released on DVD in 2009. Plot introduction ''The Lost Language of Cranes'' was the second nove ...

'', and the musical soap opera '' The Vampyr''. Finch died from

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

-related illness in London in 1995 during

post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. The ...

of his first full-length feature film ''

Stonewall Stonewall or Stone wall may refer to: * Stone wall, a kind of masonry construction * Stonewalling, engaging in uncooperative or delaying tactics * Stonewall riots, a 1969 turning point for the modern LGBTQ rights movement in Greenwich Village, Ne ...

'', a

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

loosely based on events leading up to the 1969

Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of Ju ...

in New York City.

Filmography

Accolades

Nigel Finch's death was commemorated in the ending title of the opera-film "Dido and Aeneas" (1995) directed by

Peter Maniura Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

(conducted by Richard Hickox. See the corresponding entry in

Dido and Aeneas discography This is a discography of ''Dido and Aeneas'', an opera by Henry Purcell. The first known performance was at Josias Priest's girls' school in London in the spring of 1689. Recordings Critical attention In ''Opera on Record'', ed. Alan Blyth ...

References

External links

*
Nigel Finch at the British Film Institute

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Nigel 1949 births 1995 deaths English film directors English television directors LGBT film directors People from Tenterden AIDS-related deaths in England People from Bromley Alumni of the University of Sussex 20th-century LGBT people