San Francisco born writer-director Finn Taylor was a student at the University of Montana when poetry professor Richard Hugo encouraged him to develop his talent for writing. He returned to the Bay Area to attend San Francisco State University, where he concentrated on play writing and poetry. It was there that Taylor won the Browning Award for Dramatic Monologue in 1987 and second prize in the Academy of American Poets Awards in 1988. After graduation, Taylor became the literary director of Intersection For The Arts, the renowned San Francisco theatre. He co-wrote Pontiac Moon which was released in 1994. In 1996, Taylor wrote the script for his directorial debut, the critically acclaimed Dream with the Fishes, starring David Arquette and Brad Hunt. The film premiered in dramatic competition at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. In 2001 Taylor wrote and directed his second film, Cherish, starring Robin Tunney and Tim Blake Nelson. Cherish premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired by Fine Line Features and Canal +. Taylor most recently wrote and will direct Chaos Theory, a romance involving two insurance company assessors. This past year, Finn was named one of the "Top 20 Creative People To Watch" in Variety's 50th anniversary issue.