Gregory's Girl

Story

Gregory is an awkward teenage schoolboy who falls in love with Dorothy – the new star player who has taken his place on the school football team.

Why we chose it

A gentle story about first love and adolescence.

Where it came from

Gregory’s Girl was Bill Forsyth’s second film. His first experience of working in film had previously been in documentaries. He came home to Glasgow to make two films about teenagers, That Sinking Feeling and Gregory’s Girl. He cast both mainly with unknown teenagers from the Glasgow Youth Theatre, a community theatre group. Gregory’s Girl was set in Cumbernauld, a new town just outside Glasgow. It seemed an appropriate place for a film about being young. John Gordon Sinclair who played Gregory was a member of Glasgow Youth Theatre but had started an electrician apprenticeship by the time Forsyth approached him about the role which launched his acting career.

Where it went next

The film was well received by audiences and by critics. It won a BAFTA for best original screenplay and was nominated for another three.

Associated stories

Forsyth also directed Local Hero and Comfort and Joy, both set in Scotland.