Auteur Ray Argall (director/cinematographer/writer/editor)
has been a gentle force in the Australian film industry since he began making films after graduating from Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in 1980.
In 1984, rock band Midnight Oil gave Ray unfettered access to film them both on and off stage during a gruelling national tour, undertaken just as lead singer Peter Garrett was running for Senate - and Australian kids were discovering the power of activism for the first time. The resulting treasure trove of more than 25,000 feet of footage then sat gathering dust for over 30 years until Midnight Oil: 1984 was released in 2018, a ‘riveting documentary time capsule’* labour of love that saw Ray trawling through and restoring hours of the unseen archival 16mm film over eight years, along with shooting new interviews for context. Filmink hailed it as ‘a blistering audio-visual testament to a tight-knit, independent, politically charged rock band at the height of their creativity and the peak of their performance prowess’.
Ray has earned a reputation as one of Australia’s most innovative cinematographers through his work on features such as the award-winning Look Both Ways (2005), Desperate Man Blues (2003), The Prisoner of St Petersberg (1989), Tender Hooks (1989), Wrong World (1985), and The Plains of Heaven (1982). Ray wrote and directed feature film Eight Ball in 1991 and has directed a wide variety of TV drama.
His deep affinity for music (he is the son of two musicians) has seen him work on documentaries about Split Enz, Cold Chisel, Joan Armatrading and Rockwiz as well as producing, directing, shooting and/or editing countless classic music videos for Australian rock groups throughout the 80s and 90s, including Midnight Oil, Split Enz, Crowded House, Renee Geyer and Hoodoo Gurus. One of Ray’s many current projects is a new project about 80s band The Models with more of his unseen archival footage.
Ray’s first feature, Return Home (1990), starring a young Ben Mendelsohn, garnered the Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) Best Film award and screened worldwide, including at Berlin Film Festival and a 1998 Cannes retrospective. Ray was awarded Best Director from both the AFI Awards and the Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA).
Ray served as President of the Australian Directors Guild (ADG) for ten years, representing Australian filmmakers and the industry at festivals around the world and at home.
After restoring his own back catalogue, Ray’s love of film led him to working on other bespoke film restoration projects, from the iconic 1987 concert film Australian Made Redux to the upcoming Palm D’Or winning short feature Palisades.
With Piccolo Films, he continues to produce and collaborate on a diverse array of film and animation with his partner Lucinda Clutterbuck.
*Herald Sun