While the UW Cinematheque's screenings at 4070 Vilas and the Chazen Museum of Art remain on indefinite hiatus during this challenging time, we are pleased to offer another wonderful contribution to world cinema that you can watch at home for free this week. Our selection is a new restoration of a marvelous Scottish comedy and audience favorite from the early 1980s, Gregory's Girl, written and directed by Bill Forsyth.

GREGORY’S GIRL (1980, UK, 93 min.) The lovable and gawky Gregory (Gordon John Sinclair) is a teenage boy who develops a serious fixation on Dorothy (Dee Hepburn), the first female member of his school’s soccer team. Advised and aided by a delightfully quirky group of friends and family, Gregory’s pursuit of romance leads him down several surprising and unexpected paths where he learns that you can’t always get what you want and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Forsyth’s wise, wistful, and very funny youth comedy is populated by a plethora of dreaming, memorable characters. A significant part of the cast of Gregory’s Girl was made up of performers from Glasgow Youth Theatre, many of whom collaborated with Forsyth on his debut feature, That Sinking Feeling, in 1979.

The new restoration of Gregory's Girl includes the movie's original European soundtrack, with a viewing option of English subtitles.

We are offering a limited number of opportunities to view Gregory's Girl at home for free through June 11. To get your access to the movie, simply send an email to info@cinema.wisc.edu and remember to write the word GREGORY in the subject header or in the first line of the email.

And Bill Forsyth is the very special guest on our Cinematalk podcast this week! He speaks with us from his home outside of Edinburgh, about the making of Gregory’s Girl, its influences, and his approach to the art of cinema. Forsyth also discusses how the success of Gregory's Girl paved the way for his next, and best-loved movie, 1983’s Local Hero. 

You can listen to Cinematalk here on Soundcloud or scroll below to listen right here on our blog.