Nicholas Faulks first became a fan of the US rock band Grateful Dead while still a school boy in his native Britain. He listened to their music and followed their progress through `Rolling Stone' magazine. Later, at Cambridge University, his admiration was further cemented, during which time the rockers' fame and fortune grew steadily.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for their fan - at least not then.

"My own career was less well directed," he says. "I took the actuarial exams but found them to be a ticket to tedium. This was followed by an equally unsatisfactory try at stockbroking, so in 1983 I sold my London flat and moved to Amsterdam to join the growing number of independent traders on the European Options Exchange."

In addition to a flourishing new career, Mr. Faulks became attached to "a group of the most quick-witted, amiable people" he had ever met, including Canadian John Trapman, a successful options trader whose real ambition was to be a film executive.

When Mr. Faulks left Holland in 1986 he stayed in touch with some of his former colleagues and followed the progress of others. About three years ago, he received what he describes as "one of the most welcome and unexpected telephone calls I had ever received".

His good friend John Trapman was on the line with a proposal tailor-made for a diehard Grateful Dead fan.

Together with his close friend and collaborator Gavin Poolman, Mr. Trapman had somehow retrieved from the Canadian National Film Archive the original footage of the 1970 `Festival Express' train tour which, ironically, had been shot by Mr. Poolman's father, Willem.

"The quality is good, the content incredible, and it simply has to be made into a feature film," the Canadian bubbled.

Money, of course, was the missing ingredient, but rather than going through the usual fundraising channels, he turned to his old European Options Exchange colleagues, whom he presumed would have funds available for such a project.

"The usual channels never came into play since I don't have the impression anyone said `No'," Mr. Faulks says.

"Speaking personally, I would have found it impossible to invent a film that I was more excited to be involved with. I mean, how much more video material featuring Janis Joplin is there? Not a lot, I think.

And of the Grateful Dead in their early line-up with Pigpen? To the best of my knowledge, With partner Ms DeQuincey's immediate agreement on the importance of the work and its commercial potential, a deal was struck, and they became investors.

It was then a case of "hurry up and wait" as the years passed while Mr. Trapman and Mr. Poolman worked their tortuous way through a legal minefield in order to secure rights to use the material.

"It was a complete nightmare," Mr. Faulks remembers. "It was the one thing producers John and Gavin got completely wrong. They estimated the process would take three months, but it took more than two years. Even though the artists who were still alive were very excited (about the project), their lawyers seemed to put a lot into making life difficult."

At some point during this period it was deemed advantageous for a UK domiciled company to take a significant stake in the production, and once again it was Mr. Faulks and Ms DeQuincey to the rescue.

"As luck would have it, Jill and I own just such an entity, City of London Options Ltd., so our involvement was quickly multiplied and, somewhat to my surprise, I was offered (and accepted) a highly prominent credit as associate producer," Mr. Faulks says.

Waiting patiently in the wings was director Bob Smeaton, whose enthusiasm remained undiminished during the interminable legal obstructions. When finally all of the hurdles were surmounted, he lost no time getting down to the concentrated process of editing and digitally remastering the original footage, as well as filming contemporary interviews with a selection of the musicians, crew and even some music lovers who were there - a process that took about six months to complete.

Finally, `Festival Express' was a reality.

"In my completely biased opinion, it is the best rock documentary there has ever been, or is likely to be," a clearly delighted Mr. Faulks says.

"As Bob put it, `There isn't anything else in the vaults anywhere. This is like finding the Holy Grail'."

The decision to enter their film in the recent Toronto Film Festival was as exciting as it was propitious.

"It is one of the biggest film festivals in the world - a monster, and `Festival Express' was shown twice: the first time in a small theatre seating 200, and then at the finale in a theatre for 1,400 people, and it was full," the associate producer says proudly.

In fact, the documentary not only received sporadic applause throughout but also a standing ovation at the end, and it also garnered considerable Press attention, with favourable reviews in such important trade publications as the `Village Voice' and `Rolling Stone'.

Adding to the thrill of the occasion for Mr. Faulks was a reunion with the contingent from Holland, who came to cheer their former colleagues on, and also seeing his name as associate producer among the early credits in the film - something he confesses was "quite a shock".

So far, so good, but what lies ahead for `Festival Express' ?

"Bob Trapman and Gavin Poolman are currently talking to all of the biggest names in film distribution," Mr. Faulks says. "My guess is that it will be sold with the intention of playing it at a lot of special venues rather than on general release. TV rights are also in the works, and DVDs are going to be very big. The first offshoot will be a DVD which will include music that couldn't fit into the film. We believe that will be very popular because not too many things are truly unique. In fact, my feeling is that the material would support a string of DVDs, one for each of the acts, which will require further work. That is something for the future."

Asked what attracted them as investors and a company to this project, Ms DeQuincey, a former London Stock Exchange options trader, says it was "a business decision".

"`Festival Express' was one of many projects we were offered, but we only go for ones which are particularly interesting. There was something about this one which appealed," she said.