Don Coutts is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 filmmaker best known as the director of the 2003 feature film American Cousins

American Cousins

American Cousins is a romantic comedy about a Scots-Italian fish and chip shop owner who gives refuge to his Mafia relatives when they go on the run. It was voted one of the top three Scottish films of all time by readers of The List magazine ....

. He is also a documentary and music filmmaker who has worked on numerous current affairs and entertainment productions, including the late night discussion programme After Dark.

Biography

Don Coutts left school in 1967, and began work with the Simon Community before moving to London. Soon afterwards he was employed by Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

 as a clerk. Following work in Columbia's laoratories, he got a job in the studio's cutting rooms and worked on several films as an assistant film editor. Subsequently Coutts was employed by Anglia TV and BBC East

BBC East

BBC East is the BBC English Region serving Norfolk, Suffolk, north Essex, Cambridgeshire, northern and central Hertfordshire, most of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, and parts of Buckinghamshire.-Television:...

 as an assistant film editor. As director of After Dark, Coutts developed an innovative televisual language of big close-ups, pulled focus and a panning system that was new to British talk show programming.

Film & Television drama

Dear Green Place (2007)

American Cousins

American Cousins

American Cousins is a romantic comedy about a Scots-Italian fish and chip shop owner who gives refuge to his Mafia relatives when they go on the run. It was voted one of the top three Scottish films of all time by readers of The List magazine ....

(2003)

Rose (1998)

Dead Sea Reels (1996)

St Antony’s Day Off (1995)

Selected documentaries

Mac Musical: 3 x 1 hour following the creation of a new Scottish musical for the opening of Eden Court Theatre

Eden Court Theatre

Eden Court Theatre is a large theatre, cinema and arts venue situated in Inverness, Scotland. The theatre has recently undergone a complete refurbishment and major extension, adding a second theatre, two dedicated cinema screens, two performance/dance studios, improved dressing room and green room...

. Endemol

Endemol

Endemol is an international television production and distribution company based in the Netherlands, with subsidiaries and joint ventures in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Poland,...

 for BBC Scotland

BBC Scotland

BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...

True North: Celebrating the 60th birthday of Aly Bain

Aly Bain

Aly Bain MBE is a Shetland fiddler who learned his instrument from the old-time master Tom Anderson. Bain is now considered one of the finest fiddlers in the Scottish tradition. In the early days of his career he formed part of the band The Humblebums with two other ‘unknowns’ Gerry Rafferty and...

 BBC Scotland

This is Mackay Country: Profile of Craig Mackay. Ex-S BBC Scotland

When Summers Were Longer: Huts at Carbeth Ex-S BBC Scotland

Welcome to The GoGo: Arena

Arena (TV series)

Arena is a British television documentary series, made and broadcast by the BBC. It has run since 1 October 1975, and over five hundred episodes have been made. Arena covers all manner of subjects, from profiles of notable people such as Bob Dylan to the Ford Cortina car...

 film on the go-go music scene in Washington for Island Records

Island Records

Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...

 / BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 Network.

Cowboys in Skirts: The making of feature film Rob Roy. United Artists

United Artists

United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....

/ ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 Network.

Clarissa & the Countryman: Series two (x3) and three (x4) Clarissa Dickson Wright and travelling around Britain. BBC Network.

Fly Me To Dunoon: The story of jazz singer Suzanne Bonner. BBC Network.

Tacsi: 18 x 30 minute Music Arts programmes - STV/Grampian

A Kiss To Build A Dream On: Profile of Hollywood director Michael Caton-Jones

Michael Caton-Jones

Michael Caton-Jones is the director of such films as Scandal, Rob Roy, Memphis Belle and The Jackal...

. BBC Scotland.

My Name is Albert Watson: Profile of stills photographer Albert Watson

Albert Watson (photographer)

Albert Watson is a Scottish photographer well known for his fashion, celebrity and art photography, and whose work is featured in galleries and museums worldwide. He has shot over 200 covers of Vogue around the world and 40 covers of Rolling Stone magazine since the mid-1970s...

. BBC Scotland.

The Trainer Wars: A film about Nike

Nike, Inc.

Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...

, Reebok

Reebok

Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...

 & Adidas

Adidas

Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...

. BBC Scotland.

Tracks of my Tears: Documentary about men and crying. BBC Scotland.

Victims of The Village: Expose of rural Child Abuse. BBC Scotland.

The Power List: 50 Minute documentary presented by Jon Snow

Jon Snow

Jon Snow is an English journalist and presenter, currently employed by ITN. He is best known for presenting Channel 4 News.He was Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University from 2001 to 2008.-Early life:...

 looking at changes in Power in Britain.

Awards

Best Director – Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 International Film Festival

Best Director, Comedy – Newport Beach Film Festival

Newport Beach Film Festival

The Newport Beach Film Festival is a film festival in the United States held in Newport Beach, California, that showcases more than 350 films to more than 30,000 attendees annually....

 (USA)

Best Film – Milan International Film Festival

Best Film – Sunday Times Bowmore Awards

Best Film – Newport Beach Film Festival (USA)

Best Comedy – Newport Beach Film Festival (USA)

Audience Award – Milan International Film Festival

Audience Award – BAFTA Scotland

Special Jury Prize – Savannah Film Festival (USA)

External links

• Move on Up