Alison Murray is a Canadian/British screenwriter and director based between Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada and Argentina.
In 2020, shooting began on her new fictional feature film The Vegas, developed with The Film Farm and produced by Cepa Cine. Production was halted by the global pandemic but is due to resume in 2021. Murray is currently developing the television drama series ATISMIA with Sienna Films.
Her feature documentary Caprichosos de San Telmo, shot on location in Buenos Aires, premiered in the Toronto International Film Festival and continued Murray’s tradition of seeking to empower people living on the fringes.
Murray’s documentary CARNY, following the secret life of fairground workers, was broadcast on the Sundance Channel, Channel 4 UK and TVOntario. It premiered in the Hot Docs Festival and won best documentary in the Brooklyn International Film Festival.
Mouth to Mouth, Murray’s fictional feature (writer/director) stars Oscar nominee Elliot Page. The film showcases Murray’s signature choreographic style, woven into a powerful narrative about a search for belonging. It premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival and went on to win Best Feature Prizes at the Brooklyn International Film Festival, Berlin’s Britspotting Festival, and Festival D’ Annonay, France. Mouth to Mouth was released theatrically in the USA, UK, Canada, and France.
Train on the Brain was Murray’s documentary for Channel 4 UK and TVOntario, in which she rode the rails across North America armed with digital and Super 8 cameras, giving a platform to marginalized youth. Train on the Brain screened to a huge audience at Glastonbury Festival .
Murray earned an MA in Film at the Royal College of Art, and made critically acclaimed short films for the BBC/Channel 4. Her films such as Wank Stallions, Kissy Suzuki Suck, and Pantyhead were radical in their confrontation of racism and gender / sexuality issues.
Alison has directed over twenty music videos for British pop acts such as The Sugababes, Busted, and B*Witched, and was nominated for several industry awards.
Murray’s artistic activities have spanned from nightclub video installations to choreography for the Royal Opera House Garden Venture, and collaborations with theatre maverick Marisa Carnesky. Two of Murray’s theatre creations have been staged in Belgium. Retrospectives of her work have shown at The Institute of Contemporary Art and the Tate Gallery in London, and at Toronto’s Royal Cinema.
Murray studied theatre writing, dance and choreography before moving into film and continues her involvement with dance. She and her partner Carlos Boeri won First Place at the Buenos Aires Tango Championships in 2014.