B: May 5, 1953 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
D: February 2, 1995 in Vancouver, British Columbia
Phillip Borsos was the son of a Hungarian sculptor and an English nurse. Born in Tasmania, he moved to Trail, British Columbia when he was 5. As a Grade 11 student, he acquired a 16-mm Bolex camera from his father and began his obsession with film-making. In the late 1970s, he made documentaries for the National Film Board, including Nails, a simple study of nail manufacturing, which received an Oscar nomination. He next teamed up with Toronto-based producer Peter O’Brian, and directed his first feature film, The Grey Fox. Based on the true story of Bill Miner, an American stagecoach-bandit-turned-train-robber who fled to Canada, the film brought immediate international acclaim. Borsos was a four-time Canadian Film Award and Genie Award winner and an Academy Award nominee. A mainstream, talented director, Phillip Borsos died of leukemia in 1995. In 2004, the Whistler Film Festival initiated The Borsos Competition in his honour. Read a Tribute to Phillip Borsos by Producer, Peter O’Brian. |
Features & TV Movies: The Barking Dog (1975) The Grey Fox (1982) Bethune: The Making of a Hero (1990) |