Forster had an idyllic childhood growing up in the mountains of Switzerland where he says he did not see television until the age of 12. The first movie he saw was "Apocalypse Now" and it inspired him to become a filmmaker. After finishing his Swiss Maturity degree, Forster went to New York to study film at NYU. After graduating from the university in 1993, Forster made two documentaries. The first was "Silent Windows," an exploration of teenage suicide and the second was "Our Story," a touching look at the lives of child burn victims. Both documentaries aired on European television and offered Forster the chance to have his skills as a director seen by a wide audience. His next project was his feature directorial debut, the black comedy "Loungers" (1995). It won the audience award at the Slamdance Film festival the following year as well as being voted runner-up to the Grand Jury Prize.

During this time, Forster suffered a series of personal tragedies in his life. Within three months in 1998, his father and grandmother died and his brother committed suicide. While clearly traumatized by these events, Forster actually discovered a keen sense of understanding of death and loss and turned to bringing his newfound insight to his work. Forster next directed the sobering drama "Everything Put Together" (2000) which he also helped write. It was the story of a young couple whose infant's death alienates them from their sheltered suburban existence. The film premiered at Sundance and received widespread praise.

Forster's subtle portrayal of tragedy in "Everything Put Together" was noticed by producer Lee Daniels who was beginning to put together what would become "Monster's Ball." Writers Milo Addica and Will Rokos had written an emotionally charged script about a black woman in the South who becomes romantically involved with the man who executed her husband on death row. The movie needed to portray a range of feeling and explore sometimes uncomfortable situations as it told its story of two very emotionally damaged people against the backdrop of an historically scarred locale. The writers were also impressed with Forster's work in "Everything" and felt that Forster would bring the neccesary perspective to their script. The result was one of 2001's most impressive surprises. Halle Barry and Billy Bob Thorton both took paycuts to be in the small, independent film and Barry ended up taking home the Best Actress Oscar. Forster has been noted for his intense attention to detail and the genuine essence this treatment gives his work. Perhaps it is this careful illumination of nuance which explains how a childless man from Switzerland was able to create such powerful and moving films about the death of an infant the legacy of the American South.

The success of "Monster's Ball" gave Forster the appropriate Hollywood cachet to up his budget and explore a bigger cinematic world with A-list stars in his follow-up effort. Forster chose wisely with "Finding Neverland" (2004), an imaginative, often bittersweet exploration of the forces that prompted writer J.M. Barrie to create the enduring story of "Peter Pan." With Johnny Depp cast as the playwright, who becomes enamored of a widow (Kate Winslett) and the vibrant play-world of her three sons--despite the dangers to his own childless marriage--"Finding Neverland" became, in Forster's hands, a rich, nuanced (if sometimes precious) exploration of imagination and inspiration, as well as the price an artist must pay to find a muse.

Forster's next film, "Stay" (2005) was a rare misstep, an ambitious but murky psychological thriller about a shrink (Ewan McGregor) whose suicidal patient (Ryan Gosling) somehow begins invading his dreams and blurring the lines of their realities and individualities.