This director/writer from Switzerland moved to New York after completing his Swiss Maturity degree in 1990. There he continued his studies in film at NYU. Forster started his directing career making documentaries for European television.
His work impressed producers who offered him the opportunity to direct his feature film screenplay,
Loungers. He took on the challenge and received the Slamdance Audience Award for his efforts. With his first feature under his belt, he decided to get right to work on his second. He co-wrote
Everything Put Together, a dramatic look at parents who lose their newborn to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Released in 2000, Forster won the 'Someone to Watch' honor from the Independent Spirit Awards.
He followed up the success with
Monster's Ball (2001), the racially fuelled, award-winning drama starring Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry.
Finding Neverland starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet was his biggest hit to date, taking in US$51 million in domestic box office sales alone, and receiving seven Oscar nominations (winning for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score) and five Golden Globe nominations.
Filmography1995 Loungers
2000 Everything Put Together
2001 Monster's Ball
2004 Finding Neverland
2005 Stay
2006 Stranger than Fiction
2007 The Kite Runner2008 Quantum of Solace
2011 Machine Gun Preacher
2013 World War Z
2016 All I See Is You
2018 Christopher Robin
2022 A Man Called Otto
2023 White Bird
2024 Thomas & Friends: The Movie