Bill Douglas Trilogy

Bill Douglas Trilogy

Synopsis

Bill Douglas's award-winning films – My Childhood, My Ain Folk and My Way Home - are three of the most compelling and critically acclaimed films about childhood ever made. The narrative is largely autobiographical, following Jamie (Stephen Archibald) as he grows up in a poverty-stricken mining village in post-war Scotland. In these brutal surroundings, and subject to hardship and rejection, Jamie learns to fend for himself. We see him grow from child to adolescent – angry and bewildered, but playful, creative and affectionate.

In My Childhood (1972), eight-year old Jamie lives with his granny and elder brother in a Scots mining village in 1945. With his mother in a mental home, and his father absent, he is subject to the hardships of poverty. In My Ain Folk (1973), Jamie is sent to live with his paternal grandmother and uncle; a life full of silence and rejection. My Way Home (1978) sees Jamie's ultimate victory over his circumstances; after a spell in foster care, and a homeless shelter, he is conscripted into the RAF, where he embarks on a redemptive friendship with Robert, which allows him to emerge from his ineffectual adolescence to pursue his artistic ambition.

Douglas contracted his subject matter to the barest essentials – dialogue is kept to a minimum, and fields, slag heaps and cobbled streets are shot in bleak monochrome. Yet with its unexpected humour and warmth, the Trilogy brims with clear-eyed humanity, and affection for an ultimately triumphant young boy.

Film Listing

- My Childhood (1972, 48 mins)
- My Ain Folk (1973, 55 mins)
- My Way Home (1978, 72 mins)

Special Features

- Bill Douglas: Intent On Getting The Image (2006, 63 mins), documentary about Bill Douglas's life and work
- Come Dancing (1970, 15 mins), Douglas's remarkable, rarely-seen student short
- Archive interview with Bill Douglas (4 mins)
- Commissioned essays, notes and credits