Mini Biographies of Scots and Scots Descendants

Bill Forsyth was born in Whiteinch, Glasgow, 1946, the son of a plumber. He left school at 16 and entered the film industry by chance, answering an ad in the Evening Citizen and becoming an assistant to Stanley Russell of Thames and Clyde Film. He spent three months at the National Film and Television School before quitting to go back to film production. With fellow Scot Charles Gormley, Forsyth started Tree Films, a small feature film and documentary production company. In 1977 he began working with the Glasgow Youth Theatre, and wrote the script for "Gregory's Girl" with the Youth Theatre members in mind. When he couldn't find funding for that project, he wrote "That Sinking Feeling", another showcase for the young actors, but with a much smaller budget. The success of that film in 1979 enabled him to get "Gregory's Girl" off the ground. Forsyth received the British Academy Award for Best Screenplay for that film. In 1983, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow.

Read more about him here!