Jeanie Finlay

Directing

Jeanie Finlay

Jeanie Finlay is one of Britain’s most distinctive documentary makers. Her acclaimed films tell small and intimate stories to international audiences, whether inviting them behind the scenes of Teesside’s last record shop (SOUND IT OUT), to share the extraordinary journey of a British transgender man, pregnant with his child (Seahorse) or onto the set of the world’s biggest television show (Game o…

Known For

Game of Thrones: The Last WatchGame of Thrones: The Last Watch · 2019
Game of Thrones: The Last Watch
7.02019
MovieDocumentary
For a year, acclaimed British filmmaker Jeanie Finlay was embedded on the set of the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones,” chronicling the creation of the show’s most ambitious and complicated season. Debuting one week after the series 8 finale, GAME OF THRONES: THE LAST WATCH delves deep into the mud and blood to reveal the tears and triumphs involved in the challenge of bringing the fantasy world of Westeros to life in the very real studios, fields and car-parks of Northern Ireland. Made with unprecedented access, GAME OF THRONES: THE LAST WATCH is an up-close and personal portrait from the trenches of production, following the crew and the cast as they contend with extreme weather, punishing deadlines and an ever-excited fandom hungry for spoilers. Much more than a “making of” documentary, this is a funny, heartbreaking story, told with wit and intimacy, about the bittersweet pleasures of what it means to create a world – and then have to say goodbye to it.
All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the SeaAll Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea · 2026
All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea
9.32026
MovieDocumentary
When a tidemark of poisoned crabs & lobsters devastate a small North East fishing town, veteran fisherman Stan Rennie becomes the unlikeliest of activists. A wry David and Goliath story, told with gallows humour and a broad Teesside accent, about the grief of navigating a world which has suddenly, inexplicably changed forever.
Panto!Panto! · 2014
Panto!
2014
MovieDocumentary
Heartfelt and heartbreaking documentary following a cast of Nottingham amateur actors staging a production of Puss in Boots.
Goth CruiseGoth Cruise · 2008
Goth Cruise
6.22008
MovieDocumentary
A look at the growing allure of Goth culture in England and the USA...on a boat.
Orion: The Man Who Would Be KingOrion: The Man Who Would Be King · 2015
Orion: The Man Who Would Be King
7.02015
MovieMusicDocumentary
August 16, 1977. All of America was stunned by the news of Elvis Presley's untimely passing. Some went so far as to believe that it couldn't be true. Somehow he had faked his death. For the executives at Sun Records that fantasy became an opportunity in the form of Orion, a mysterious masked performer with the voice of The King. First appearing in 1979, Orion recorded 11 albums and performed live to packed houses and rapturous fans around the nation. But who was the man behind the mask? In this stranger-than-fiction true story, Jeanie Finlay exposes the incredible life of an unknown singer plucked from obscurity and thrust into the spotlight with the complicity of a manipulative music industry and a public fan base unwilling to let The King go. Resonant in its themes of identity, fate, and the double-edged nature of fame, Orion is a stylish mystery story that finally gives a name and a face to a gifted artist who had been unjustly deprived of both.
Sound It OutSound It Out · 2011
Sound It Out
6.22011
MovieDocumentaryMusic
A portrait of the last surviving vinyl record shop in Teesside, North East England, at a time when independent record shops were closing in the UK at a rate of one every three days. A distinctive, funny and intimate film about men, the North and the irreplaceable role music plays in our lives. High Fidelity with a Northern Accent.
Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave BirthSeahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth · 2019
Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth
6.72019
MovieDocumentary
Director Jeanie Finlay charts a transgender man's path to parenthood after he decides to carry his child himself. The pregnancy prompts an unexpected and profound reckoning with conventions of masculinity, self-definition and biology.
IndietracksIndietracks · 2016
Indietracks
6.02016
MovieDocumentary
In 2007 an indiepop music festival was born in the unlikeliest of settings - a heritage steam train site, Butterley Derbyshire. Bringing together passionate characters from two very distinct worlds this affectionate portrait is told from the point of view of the retired volunteers that run the locos who have "steam in their blood" and don't really know very much about "this indiepop music".

Filmography

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Game of Thrones: The Last WatchGame of Thrones: The Last Watch · 2019
Game of Thrones: The Last Watch
7.02019
MovieDocumentary
For a year, acclaimed British filmmaker Jeanie Finlay was embedded on the set of the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones,” chronicling the creation of the show’s most ambitious and complicated season. Debuting one week after the series 8 finale, GAME OF THRONES: THE LAST WATCH delves deep into the mud and blood to reveal the tears and triumphs involved in the challenge of bringing the fantasy world of Westeros to life in the very real studios, fields and car-parks of Northern Ireland. Made with unprecedented access, GAME OF THRONES: THE LAST WATCH is an up-close and personal portrait from the trenches of production, following the crew and the cast as they contend with extreme weather, punishing deadlines and an ever-excited fandom hungry for spoilers. Much more than a “making of” documentary, this is a funny, heartbreaking story, told with wit and intimacy, about the bittersweet pleasures of what it means to create a world – and then have to say goodbye to it.

Director

Orion: The Man Who Would Be KingOrion: The Man Who Would Be King · 2015
Orion: The Man Who Would Be King
7.02015
MovieMusicDocumentary
August 16, 1977. All of America was stunned by the news of Elvis Presley's untimely passing. Some went so far as to believe that it couldn't be true. Somehow he had faked his death. For the executives at Sun Records that fantasy became an opportunity in the form of Orion, a mysterious masked performer with the voice of The King. First appearing in 1979, Orion recorded 11 albums and performed live to packed houses and rapturous fans around the nation. But who was the man behind the mask? In this stranger-than-fiction true story, Jeanie Finlay exposes the incredible life of an unknown singer plucked from obscurity and thrust into the spotlight with the complicity of a manipulative music industry and a public fan base unwilling to let The King go. Resonant in its themes of identity, fate, and the double-edged nature of fame, Orion is a stylish mystery story that finally gives a name and a face to a gifted artist who had been unjustly deprived of both.

Writer

The Great Hip Hop HoaxThe Great Hip Hop Hoax · 2013
The Great Hip Hop Hoax
6.32013
MovieDocumentaryComedy
GET RICH OR TRY LYING Foul-mouthed Californian hip hop duo Silibil n' Brains were going to be massive. But no-one knew the pair were really amiable Scotsmen, with fake American accents and made up identities. This documentary tells the audacious tale of how two lads from Dundee duped the record industry and nearly destroyed themselves. When their promising Scottish rap act was branded 'the rapping Proclaimers' by a scornful record industry, friends Billy Boyd and Gavin Bain reinvented themselves as Los Angeles homeboys. The lie was their golden ticket to a record deal and a dream celebrity life. A stranger-than-fiction true account of fractured friendship, the pressure of living with lies and the legacy of faking everything in the desperate pursuit of fame. Truth, lies and the legacy of faking everything in the desperate pursuit of fame.

Director