Nigel Finch

Nigel Finch

NIGEL FINCH was born on August 1, 1949 in Tenterden, Kent, England. He was a producer and film director.

With the exception of one feature film, he spent his entire career working for BBC television. He joined the network in the 1970s as a researcher. He quickly rose to be 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 included 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 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.

He died on February 14, 1995 in London, England. A special tribute for Nigel is planned for Sunday 14th June 2020 at the National Film Theatre, London.