Nigel Simpkiss, whose credentials include being lead director on BBC’s Emmy Award®-winning motor vehicle series Top Gear, has signed with BRW Group for commercial representation, meaning he will be handled in the U.S. by BRW USA, and the rest of the world (except North America) by London-based Independent. Simpkiss joins BRW from Streetlight Films which repped him in the U.S. and U.K.
The director’s body of work spans music videos, documentaries and commercials, with such notable credits as the documentary Richard Hammond Meet Evel Knievel, and spots for the likes of Aston Martin, Nokia, Land Rover, Subaru, Polaris and Jaguar.
Born just outside the industrial hub of Birmingham, England, Simpkiss briefly studied social work at the University of Bristol before stumbling upon the Fine Arts Department and discovering his passion for photography. His love for all things cinema brought him to London, where he eventually landed his big break at Channel 4, working as a runner at editorial house Component Editing. He quickly climbed the ranks to become editor, working on many well-regarded documentaries produced by Channel 4. With the resurgence of music videos, Simpkiss soon found himself doing a great deal of freelance editing on such top music videos as Primal Scream’s “Loaded,” eventually segueing into directing music video segments himself. After spending a few years freelance directing music videos and music documentaries, he began filming cars, serving as a director for numerous high-profile car shows.
Hearing through the grapevine that BBC’s Top Gear–which had been dropped by the U.K. network–was being revived and in need of a fresh new take, Simpkiss employed his extensive skills in both automotive and documentary filmmaking, as well as his desire to make the show more cinematic, to land a job as a series director. Through his Top Gear acclaim, where he continues to direct today, Simpkiss was chosen to helm commercials for many of the U.K.’s top automakers.
Though highly experienced in automotive directing, his passion lies in his documentary film roots. Simpkiss said, “I would like to move in the direction of making more documentary-style commercials where people express their passion about what they do.”
Simpkiss recently directed the BAFTA-nominated South America Special documentary, where he led the production through a Bolivian rainforest under the debilitating effects of high altitude and the terrifying sheer drops of the infamous Death Road.
Simpkiss currently resides north of London.
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More