''His Name Is Ray'' is a 2021 Canadian

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by

Michael Del Monte Michael Del Monte is a Canadian documentary filmmaker best known for writing and directing the 2017 film ''Transformer''. Life and career Del Monte received a B.A. in philosophy from the University of Western Ontario. He completed his master's ...

. Scott Montgomery and Del Monte wrote the documentary and Hanan Townshend composed the music for the film.Jazz Tangcay
"L.A Latino International Film Festival Announces Full Slate — Film News in Brief"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021. ''His Name Is Ray'' follows the precarious journey of a homeless man, Raymond Martin, for eight months on the streets of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

as he tries to achieve his dream of getting back on the water.Pat Mullen
"His Name Is Ray Review: Seen from the Other Side"
''

Point of View Point of View or Points of View may refer to: Concept and technique * Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the pronoun used in narration * Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or ...

'', May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.

Production

Del Monte drove by the same man panhandling at an intersection close to his house. After months of driving by the intersection of Lakeshore and Jameson, Del Monte decided to talk to the man.His Name is Ray
. mfilms.ca. Retrieved May 28, 2021. Ray invited Del Monte to see what life was like on the streets. Del Monte shot the majority of the film single-handedly, using no tripod and just one lens. Del Monte approached Scott Montgomery, who was fascinated with the project who come on as a writer.
. gat.ca. Retrieved May 28, 2021. Hanan Townshend was approached early about composing the music for the documentary. Townshend would send music sketches, which Del monte would listen to in one ear while filming."A Documentary About One Man’s Life on the Streets of Toronto"
''

Breakfast Television Breakfast television (Europe and Australia) or morning show (Canada and the United States) is a type of news broadcasting, news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts Live television, live in the morning (typically broadcast pro ...

'', May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021. Outside of a $10,000 grant from Hot Docs Ted Rogers Fund, the documentary was self-funded, partially with the prize money from his prior film ''

Transformer In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...

'' winning the Rogers Audience Award at the

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and Jun ...

in 2018."Guelph's Michael Del Monte wins big at Hot Docs with Transformer"

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

, May 9, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2021. Derek Cianfrance, who has been a mentor for Del Monte, came on in April 2021 as executive producer.

Release

Hot Docs premiered the documentary on their streaming platform for their members only on April 22, 2021 (Canada only)."'We all have addictions, we all have dreams and we all have a name,' says Guelph filmmaker of latest project"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021. The film will be headed to film festivals this fall and is being represented by CAA.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 10384192 2021 films 2021 documentary films Canadian documentary films Documentary films about homelessness in Canada Documentary films about Toronto 2020s English-language films 2020s Canadian films English-language documentary films English-language Canadian films