Nigel Buesst Obituary

Dearest is best, my condolences I would hope can be together with you, Di, and may Jason recount his life fortunate as his given gift.

Nigel, I am glad to say touched lives in his vernacular style, versed in human lives that had fortune to give and bestow, to a man who makes all grades a common blessing to all who were so graced.
Truly a man of honour for all time.

Thank you Jason and Amanda for a wonderful memorial to your dearest father. We feel so lucky to have known Nigel as a neighbour and friend over many years. He was generous, insightful, funny and great company. We will miss him. Our deepest condolences to Di. Our love to your whole family including his adored grand children.

Nigel was always a very jovial witty and acutely intelligent man that l had the pleasure of many conversations spanning 27 years. His unique intellect and extraordinary insight into the most mundane of topics could carry on a conversation of extreme interest endlessly. I will miss his lovely character and charm! From Dejan X. Derbogosijan

Farewell to a good bloke and a true pioneer of independent cinema in Australia. R.I.P Nigel!
David King & Andrea Parke.

I got to know Nigel Buesst in the 1970s. We shared a mutual love of inner Melbourne, its stories, its vibrant cultures, and colourful histories. Our friendship deepened in 1979, when I did a Graduate Diploma in Film and TV at Swinburne Technical College. For my course project I directed the film Glenn´s Story, based around a piece written and narrated by 15 year old Glenn Broome, an inmate in the Turana Youth Detention Centre in Royal Park. Glenn wrote it for a course taught by my friend Sue Dunstan. Nigel was the cinematographer and much more. There is one scene in particular, when Glenn re-enacts his stints in the `isolator´, as they called it, a solitary confinement cell, located where the boys detained in the maximum security unit were held when they acted up. Nigel crouched in a corner of the cell, and his camera captured Glenn´s distress, anger and sense of powerlessness, as he relentlessly circled, pounding the walls, and raging over his fate. The film was chosen as the one of the standouts of the 1970s when the film school, which had long moved to the Victorian Centre of the Arts, celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. I believe much of the film´s success was due to Nigel´s guidance, his sage advice, his typically lateral thinking, and his enthusiastic commitment to the project. I spent many enjoyable hours under his supervision, cutting it on his renowned Steenbeck in his shopfront home in Rathdowne Street. After stints in juvenile detention and Pentridge prison Glenn became a community worker, supporting boys and men caught up in the criminal justice system. To this day, he still shows the film in his programs and in various forums, as a means of understanding his past, and for its glimpses of the daily prison life of the detained boys. Glenn remembers Nigel with great fondness and they met for a coffee a few years back. Over the years I have had memorable conversations with Nigel. Conversations with Nigel were always a treat, usually out on the street somewhere in Carlton, whenever we ran into each other. Our chats roamed far and wide, with Nigel drawing on his extensive practical experience, knowledge and love of film, and his love of the art of story whatever the medium. I recall with fondness Nigel´s endearing expression while we chatted, his characteristic bemused and quizzical smile, imbued with curiosity and an enduring sense of wonder. I loved Nigel´s droll sense of humour, his philosophical musings, his generosity of spirit, his enduring curiosity and profound knowledge of the art of film. He was one of a kind. When I think of him I smile. Vale Nigel.

Nigel Buesst
From Arnold Zable

I got to know Nigel Buesst in the 1970s. We shared a mutual love of inner Melbourne, its stories, its vibrant cultures, and colourful histories. Our friendship deepened in 1979, when I did a Graduate Diploma in Film and TV at Swinburne Technical College. For my course project I directed the film Glenn´s Story, based around a piece written and narrated by 15 year old Glenn Broome, an inmate in the Turana Youth Detention Centre in Royal Park. Glenn wrote it for a course taught by my friend Sue Dunstan. Nigel was the cinematographer and much more. There is one scene in particular, when Glenn re-enacts his stints in the `isolator´, as they called it, a solitary confinement cell, located where the boys detained in the maximum security unit were held when they acted up. Nigel crouched in a corner of the cell, and his camera captured Glenn´s distress, anger and sense of powerlessness, as he relentlessly circled, pounding the walls, and raging over his fate. The film was chosen as the one of the standouts of the 1970s when the film school, which had long moved to the Victorian Centre of the Arts, celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. I believe much of the film´s success was due to Nigel´s guidance, his sage advice, his typically lateral thinking, and his enthusiastic commitment to the project. I spent many enjoyable hours under his supervision, cutting it on his renowned Steenbeck in his shopfront home in Rathdowne Street. After stints in juvenile detention and Pentridge prison Glenn became a community worker, supporting boys and men caught up in the criminal justice system. To this day, he still shows the film in his programs and in various forums, as a means of understanding his past, and for its glimpses of the daily prison life of the detained boys. Glenn remembers Nigel with great fondness and they met for a coffee a few years back. Over the years I have had memorable conversations with Nigel. Conversations with Nigel were always a treat, usually out on the street somewhere in Carlton, whenever we ran into each other. Our chats roamed far and wide, with Nigel drawing on his extensive practical experience, knowledge and love of film, and his love of the art of story whatever the medium. I recall with fondness Nigel´s endearing expression while we chatted, his characteristic bemused and quizzical smile, imbued with curiosity and an enduring sense of wonder. I loved Nigel´s droll sense of humour, his philosophical musings, his generosity of spirit, his enduring curiosity and profound knowledge of the art of film. He was one of a kind. When I think of him I smile. Vale Nigel.

You were the best... loving, inspiring, funny, and motivating. I'll miss your long, thoughtful letters and cards, deep conversations, endless patience, and sage advice in difficult times. I'll miss our phone calls, always starting with "Manda, dad here..." and ending with "Cheery-bye". You'll always be the best part of me, in my heart, and in my thoughts, and resonating in everything I do. xxx

As the days and weeks pass, and as you return to life's routine, may you continue to feel comforted by the love and support of family and friends.

We offer our condolences to the family and express our sorrow over the loss of an incredible individual. Nigel was truly one of Australians film industry´s artist.

We hope that his work continues to inspire and positively change people´s lives.
Andrew Ronald Mackinnon

An all around good bloke. Despite being a Carlton supporter and having politics just to the right of Ghengis Khan I am so sorry to lose him.
Harry Martin

A lifetime of gentle humorous friendship begun in the 1960's when he was my mentor as a young fashion photographer and continued at the Somers house

You made a difference, Nigel.

The brightest spark in a roomful of luminaries. Although I first met Nigel in his later life, I had the sense he was the same as he always was: thoughtful, wily, and generous. I was amazed by his jazz TV, an invention he demonstrated to me at his place on Rathdowne Street in 2019.

Nigel was a very special friend & colleague. He will be remembered and respected as an inspirational, iconic and truly independent filmmaker who played a pivotal role in the development of many rising Melbourne filmmakers. I will miss his gentle, wry sense of humour and his generosity as an artist & friend. He will live on in my heart & mind. I extend my deepest condolences to the family and Diane.

Sincere condolences to Diane, Jason and Amanda
Nigel was a dear friend and acquaintance who will be sadly missed but leaving us with fabulous and funny memories He always had a twinkle in his eye and was ready for a joke

I met Nigel when his daughter Amanda needed help breaking out of St Vincents Hospital after his broken leg had mended. While she was returning the
wheel chair Nigel and I had an insightful talk about film directors. Subsequent talks with Nigel were generally him testing my film knowledge and opinions. When grilled about my high school sporting activities he concluded I was a 'Creampuff'. I found his comment quite amusing.

Sorry to hear about Nigel´s death. His dry wit, knowledge about and passion for film, and his encouragement were much valued by me as a film student at Swinburne in the early days.
Last saw him in 2020 and it was all still there...

Thanks Nigel.

My condolences to Di, Jason and Amanda, and the family at large.
A close, genuine and entertaining friend over many years.