Sandy Wilson

Sandra "Sandy" Wilson (born 1947) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is best known for her films My American Cousin and Harmony Cats (1992). Most of her films take place in the same areas she grew up: Penticton and the Okanagan.

Wilson has received critical acclaim for her films. At the 1986 Genie Awards, My American Cousin won six awards including Best Achievement in Direction, Best Original Screenplay and Best Motion Picture. Harmony Cats was nominated for Genie Awards in 1993.

Early life and education Sandra "Sandy" Wilson was born in 1947 in Penticton, British Columbia, and is of English descent.

The film was further inspired by the Johnny Horton song "The Battle of New Orleans." When she was working on the film, Wilson heard it on the radio and thought it reminded her of her American cousin, which became the inspiration for the film's title.

The budget for the film was $1.5 million and was fund raised over a two-year period. Wilson started the project by traveling to Toronto and pitching the film to "anyone with money."

My American Cousin won six Genie Awards at the 1986 ceremony, including Best Achievement in Direction and Best Original Screenplay for Wilson. Shortly after, My American Cousin opened in New York.

Four years later, Wilson directed the sequel to My American Cousin, American Boyfriends (1989). The film follows Sandy Wilcox on a trip to Santa Cruz to see her cousin get married. During production in California, the local union limited the number of Canadian crew members to seven. They were given the label "privileged aliens" while working in the United States. The American crew members working on the film were all familiar with the original film, and happy to be working on its sequel.

In 1992, Wilson premiered Harmony Cats, which was different from all her films that came before. After American Boyfriends, Wilson didn't want to direct any more semi-autobiographical pieces.

Filmography

Awards and nominations