Gillies MacKinnon

Born: 8 January 1948
Where: Glasgow, Scotland, UK

The former art teacher and inner-city youth worker made his breakthrough with the harrowing TV film The Grass Arena.

Prior to that he had received positive feedback for the series Needle.

After The Grass Arena, he directed and wrote Small Faces, which picked up two international awards.

Other features include The Playboys, A Simple Twist of Fate, Trojan Eddie and Regeneration, based on Pat Barker's Booking Prize winning novels.

In 1998, he faltered with the below-par Hideous Kinky, which he followed with The Escapist and Pure, boasting a stunning performance by newcomer Harry Eden.