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 and its legacy of famous gay guests, including Oscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams, William S. Burroughs, Quentin Crisp and Andy Warhol. His documentary subjects include artist Robert Mapplethorpe (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, and the musical soap opera The Vampyr.
Finch's longterm partner was the writer Rupert Haselden. Haselden died of AIDS-related complications on 8 May 1994, aged 36.
Finch died from AIDS-related illness in London in 1995 during post-production of his first full-length feature film Stonewall, a docudrama loosely based on events leading up to the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City.
Filmography Film The Errand (1980) (Short film) The Caravaggio Conspiracy (1984) Stonewall (1995)
TV movies Ligmalion: A Musical for the 80s (1985) Raspberry Ripple (1986) The Lost Language of Cranes (1991)
TV series Year Title Notes 1986 Screen Two Episode "Shergar" 1988 Bergerac Episode "Whatever Lola Wants" 1992–1993 The Vampyr: A Soap Opera Miniseries
Documentary works TV movies 25x5: The Continuing Adventures of the Rolling Stones (1989)
TV series Year Title Episode 1978 Omnibus "Fear and Loathing in Gonzovision" (Also producer) Arena My Way 1981 Did You Miss Me? Chelsea Hotel 1982 The Private Life of the Ford Cortina 1983 Kurt Vonnegut, Jr: "Deadeye Dick" 1988 Robert Mapplethorpe 1991 Kenneth Anger 1993 Tales of Rock 'N' Roll: Peggy Sue Pirates (Also producer) 1994 Louise Bourgeois: No Trespassing
Executive producer Paris Is Burning (1991)
Accolades Year Award Category Nominated work Result 1988 BAFTA TV Award Best Factual Series Arena TV series 1989 1990 1991 1992 1981 Chicago International Film Festival Gold Hugo Best Short Film The Errand 1995 BFI London Film Festival Audience Award Stonewall 1996 Frameline Film Festival Audience Award
Nigel Finch's death was commemorated in the ending title of the opera-film "Dido and Aeneas" (1995) directed by Peter Maniura (conducted by Richard Hickox. See the corresponding entry in Dido and Aeneas discography).
References
External links
Nigel Finch at the British Film Institute The Independent: Nigel Finch obituary