Phillip Borsos

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 16mm Bolex camera from his father and began his obsession with filmmaking. 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.

Also see: A Tribute to Phillip Borsos by Producer Peter OBrian.