William McGregor (director) explained

William McGregor (born 26 September 1987) is a British screenwriter and director of BAFTA award winning film and television and Cannes Lion award winning commercials.^[1]

Career

McGregor studied at University for the Creative Arts in Farnham where he made his 2009 student film, Who's Afraid of the Water Sprite? and won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama;^[2] the Cambridge Student Film Festival was renamed "The Watersprite Film Festival" in honour of the film.^[3]

McGregor was selected as a Screen International "Star of Tomorrow" in 2012^[4] and a Berlinale Talent Campus participant in 2010.^[5] McGregor is represented for drama in the UK by Independent Talent and for commercials by The Mill.^[6]

McGregor became the youngest-ever director of E4's BAFTA award-winning drama, Misfits, in 2013, directing the first three episodes of series five.^[7] In 2014, he directed the finale of the BBC's Poldark. The final episode was described as "one of those rare occasions when a popular drama series delivers something that properly belongs to art" by The Daily Telegraph.^[8]

In 2016 McGregor directed the mini series One of Us, starring Juliet Stevenson and Laura Fraser.^[9] The four part miniseries was produced by the BBC and Netflix. The series received the highest number of nominations for any television production at the 2017 Scottish Royal Television Society Awards,^[10] and actress Juliet Stevenson received a Scottish BAFTA nomination for her work on the show.^[11]

In 2019 William directed the This World storyline for the first series of His Dark Materials.

Feature films

McGregor's BAFTA winning ^[12] debut feature film, Gwen, produced by Hilary Bevan Jones, premièred at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018.^[13]

After the Toronto International Film Festival premiere Gwen was picked up for distribution in the US ^[14] and internationally.^[15] McGregor also signed to the Creative Artists Agency for representation in the US.^[16]

The film became one of the Toronto International Film Festival buzz titles drawing praise for its folk horror roots and unnerving tone.^{[17] [18]}

Awards

• Nominated - Best British Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2019 for Gwen (2019 film)
• Won - Jury Prize at the Riviera International Film Festival 2019 for Gwen (2019 film)
• Won – Best International Mini-series Sichuan TV Festival for Poldark
• Nominated – Best Directing for a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made Television Sichuan TV Festival for Poldark
• Nominated – Best Drama National Television Awards for Poldark
• Nominated – Best Newcomer Rushes Soho Shorts Festival for Bovine^[19]
• Won – Coca-Cola Cinemagic Young Filmmaker of the Year 2010 for Who's Afraid of the Water Sprite?^[20]
• Won – Coca-Cola Cinemagic Innovation Award for The Little^[20]
• Nominated – National Film Festival for Talented Youth "New Talent Award" for The Little^[21]
• Won – Best Drama Royal Television Society Award for Who's Afraid of the Water Sprite?^[22]
• Nominated – Best Short Warsaw Film Festival for Who's Afraid of the Water Sprite?^[23]
• Nominated – Best Student Film The European Independent Film Festival for Who's Afraid of the Water Sprite?^[24]
• Won – Cambridge Student Film Festival "Film of the Year" for Who's Afraid of the Water Sprite?
• Won – Cambridge Student Film Festival "Best Direction" for Who's Afraid of the Water Sprite?
• Won – Cambridge Student Film Festival "Technical Achievement" for Who's Afraid of the Water Sprite?^[25]
• Won – National Student Film Festival "Technical Achievement" for Who's Afraid of the Water Sprite?
• Won – National Student Film Festival "Best Cinematography" for Who's Afraid of the Water Sprite?
• Won – National Student Film Festival "Best Horror" for Who's Afraid of the Water Sprite?
• Won – Exposures "Best Cinematography" for Who's Afraid of the Water Sprite?^[26]
• Nominated – National Young Filmmaker Award for Follow the Scent^[27]
• Nominated – BAFTA 60 Seconds of Fame^[28]

Filmography

Short films

• Follow the Scent (2006)
• Who's Afraid of the Water Sprite? (2009)
• Bovine (2010)
• The Little (2010)
• The Puppeteer (2010)
• Eradicate (2011)
• No Escape (2012)

Television

• Misfits – Series 5, Episodes 1, 2, 3
• Poldark – Series 1, Episodes 5, 6, 7, 8
• One of Us – Series 1, Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4
• His Dark Materials – Series 1, 'This World', Episodes 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
• Lockwood & Co. – Series 1, Episodes 2, 3, 4

Feature films

• Gwen

Commercials

• Harry Potter – Wizzards Unite
• Pepsi – Get Hyped for Half Time
• Ford Fusion – Change
• Google – Hangout
• Google – Front Row
• Freddy – Snake
• SEGA – Rome2: Total War
• Boots – Summer
• Barclays – Help

Notes and References

1. Web site: Who's afraid of William McGregor?.
2. Web site: SOUTHERN CENTRE AWARDS 2009 - 2010 RESULTS | Royal Television Society . Rts.org.uk . 2015-12-22.
3. Web site: About . Watersprite.org.uk . 2015-12-22.
4. Web site: UK Stars of Tomorrow . Screendaily.com . 2015-12-21.
5. Web site: Berlinale Talents . Berlinale-talents.de . 2015-02-07 . 2015-12-22.
6. Web site: The Mill . The Mill . 2015-05-05 . 2015-12-22.
7. Web site: Misfits - All 4 . Channel4.com . 2015-12-22.
8. Web site: Allison Pearson . Poldark, series 1, finale, review: 'devastatingly good' . Telegraph . 2015-12-22.
9. Web site: Juliet Stevenson . Esteemed ensemble cast announced for major new BBC One drama One Of Us - Media Centre . BBC . 2015-12-22.
10. Web site: RTS Scotland Awards 2017. 9 January 2017.
11. Web site: British Academy Scotland Awards: Winners in 2017. 3 November 2017.
12. Web site: Winners announced for 2019 British Academy Cymru Awards. 13 October 2019.
13. Web site: Gwen.
14. Web site: UK drama 'Gwen' secures North America deal (Exclusive).
15. Web site: UK drama 'Gwen' starring Eleanor Worthington-Cox heading to France (Exclusive).
16. Web site: Film News Roundup: 'Wizard of Oz' Sets Single-Day Record for Fathom. 29 January 2019.
17. Web site: [TIFF Review] 'Gwen' is a Gorgeous Slow Burn Reminiscent of 'The Witch'. 10 September 2018.
18. Web site: Toronto International Film Festival 2018 Report Part 9: Cannes You Dig It?. 24 September 2018.
19. Web site: Soho Shorts Newcomer 2010. 2015-12-21. sohoshorts.me.
20. Web site: Cinemagic Winners Announced. 2015-12-21. www.northernirelandscreen.co.uk.
21. Web site: NFFTY 2011 Award Winners. 2015-12-21. nffty.org.
22. Web site: RTS awards 2009/10. 2015-12-21. rts.org.uk.
23. Web site: Warsaw Film Festival. 2015-12-21. www.wff.pl.
24. Web site: Festival Genius. 2015-12-21. ecu.festivalgenius.com.
25. Web site: Water Sprite Film Festival. 2015-12-21. www.watersprite.org.uk.
26. Web site: Exposures Film Festival. 2015-12-21. www.exposuresfestival.co.uk.
27. Web site: Festival Focus. www.festivalfocus.org. 2015-12-21.
28. Web site: BAFTA 60 Seconds of Fame. 2015-12-21. bafta.org.