William Gerald Douglas (17 April 1934 – 18 June 1991) was a Scottish film director best known for the trilogy of films about his early life.

Biography

Born in Newcraighall, a mining village on the outskirts of Edinburgh. He was brought up initially by his maternal grandmother, Jean Beveridge; following her death, he lived with his father and paternal grandmother. He undertook his National Service in Egypt, where he met his lifelong friend, Peter Jewell. On returning to Britain, Douglas moved to London and began a career of acting and writing. After spending some time with Joan Littlewood's 'Theatre Workshop' company at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, he was cast in the Granada television series, The Younger Generation in 1961 and had a musical, Solo, produced in 1962 at Cheltenham.

Filmmaking career

Having been interested in film-making all his life, in 1969 Douglas enrolled at the London School of Film Technique, where he wrote the screenplay for a short autobiographical film called Jamie. After initial difficulties in finding support for the project, he eventually found a champion at the British Film Institute in the newly appointed head of Production, Mamoun Hassan, who secured funding on the basis that Jamie should form part one of a trilogy – echoing the great childhood trilogies of Ray and Gorky. The film was renamed My Childhood, and its success on the international festival circuit paved the way for the second and third instalments of the trilogy of Douglas's formative years: My Ain Folk (1973) and My Way Home (1978).

The Bill Douglas Trilogy recounts the harrowing experiences of a young boy, Jamie, growing up in material and emotional poverty with his brother and grandmother; followed by incarceration in a children's home, and then living in a hostel for down-and-outs.