Nigel Wingrove

Nigel Wingrove (born October 26, 1957, Nr Plymouth, Devon, England), is the founder of the horror film company Redemption Films and the Salvation Group and creator of the online alternative female collective, Satanic Sluts. He is also a film director and the only director to have had a film banned in the UK on the grounds of blasphemy.

Redemption Films

Wingrove founded the film distribution company Redemption Films in 1992, which was the first UK company to specialize in releasing obscure European films by directors such as Jean Rollin, Jess Franco, Dario Argento and Peter Walker. Redemption’s logo features a white, eyeless face, which is of Wingrove's former girlfriend, the actress and scream queen, Eileen Daly.

Films

Separate to his work as CEO of the Salvation Group, Wingrove has written and directed a number of low budget films including Sacred Flesh (2000), "Red Kiss" (2004) and three titles in the Satanic Sluts range. Wingrove's early film work included the short erotic film "Visions of Ecstasy" in 1989, which is an interpretation of the writings of Carmelite nun Saint Teresa of Avila with a soundtrack by Steven Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees and would go on to be banned from distribution on the grounds of blasphemy. Wingrove is currently working on a nunsploitation film, "Sisters of Armageddon", and a new Satanic Sluts title - "PURE: Life Unworthy of Life".

Anti-Censorship

In 1996, Wingrove challenged the British Board of Film Classification, which has refused to grant a distribution certificate for his short film "Visions of Ecstasy" on the grounds that it was blasphemous, at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. He claimed that the ban breached Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and was disproportionate.^[1] Wingrove's case was supported by the notable figures such as authors Salman Rushdie ^[2] and Fay Weldon,^[3] and film director Derek Jarman,^[4] however The Court dismissed the claim and accepted that the criminal law of Blasphemy, as it was applied in England, did not infringe the right to freedom of expression under Article 10. In 1994, Wingrove had also contested the BBFC’s refusal to grant a certificate to the films "Bare Behind Bars", "Demoniacs" and "Sadomania" at the Video Appeals Committee, though without success.

Other work

Designs

Wingrove is also known for his design work, which has a dark erotic style. He has worked on the fetish magazine Skin Two and, from 1992 to 1996, he was involved with the emerging Black Metal band Cradle of Filth, who licensed a number of Wingrove’s images for use as their artwork on albums and t-shirts including the infamous "Jesus is a Cunt" design. Wingrove went on to art direct three albums for the band, the last being Dusk... and Her Embrace, though a great many of Wingrove’s conceived images can be found in the definitive book on the band, "Gospel of Filth" (Fab Press, 2009), written by Gavin Baddeley.

Publications

Wingrove has two books published; "The Art of the Nasty", co-authored with Marc Morris, and "Blood and Dishonour: The Dark, Bloody and Peversely Erotic World of the Satanic Sluts - Satan’s True Sirens". Wingrove also edits both the printed and online versions of the magazine "Nihilista", writes a regular blog and runs the quasi arts and politics site "Scum Nation". Wingrove is writing his first novel "Dum Dum", and developing a major reference work, "Strength Through Design - Hatred as Art" which marries extreme politics and ideological ideas with design aesthetics.

Filmography

• Axel (1988), a title inspired by a short story by symbolist writer Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam

• Visions of Ecstasy (1989), an interpretation of the writings of Carmelite nun Saint Teresa of Avila with a soundtrack by Steven Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the only film to be banned by the BBFC on the grounds of blasphemy

• Faustine (1990), a short interpretation of Swinburne's poem "Faustine"

• Sacred Flesh (1999), an independent Nunsploitation film.

• Satanic Sluts: The Black Order Cometh (2007), the first in a series of films depicting the online female collective, Satanic Sluts

• Satanic Sluts II: The Black Masses (2008), a documentary including footage of live performances by Satanic Sluts held at Wingrove's alternative night club night, Black Mass

• Satanic Sluts III: Scandalized (2009), the latest in the Satanic Sluts series, featuring Georgina Baillie and Michelle Thorne

References

1. ^ "Wingrove v. The United Kingdom,(1997) 24 EHRR 1, (1996) ECHR 17419/90". religlaw.org. 2009-10-13. http://www.religlaw.org/template.php?id=370. Retrieved 2009-10-13. 
2. ^ Wynne-Jones, Ros (1996-03-28). "Salman Rushdie defends Nigel Wingrove's right to freedom of expression". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/film-director-fights-blasphemy-ban-1344424.html. Retrieved 2009-10-13. 
3. ^ "Archaic blasphemy law faces last judgment". London: The Independent. 1996-11-25. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/archaic-blasphemy-law-faces-last-judgment-1354165.html. Retrieved 2009-10-13. 
4. ^ Kermode, Mark (2006-02-12). "It's not just Muslims who lay down the law on blasphemers". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2006/feb/12/features.review1. Retrieved 2009-10-13. 

Further reading

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-visions-of-redemption-1344278.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/celestial-orgasm-that-went-too-far-1343757.html

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/columnists/article3003316.ece

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/apr/06/news.religion

External links

• nigelwingrove.com - Wingrove's personal website
• salvation-films.com - The Official Redemption Films website
• satanic-sluts.com - The Official Satanic Sluts website
• nihilistamag.com - The Official Nihilista Magazine website
• Nigel Wingrove at the IMDb.com database

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Name	Wingrove, Nigel
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Date of birth	1957-10-26
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