Ray Lawrence (born 1948) is an Australian film director, best known for his 2001 film ''

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''.

Overview

All his films are made in Australia with predominantly Australian casts. He has made only three films in nearly four decades, yet they have been some of the most critically acclaimed works in Australian cinema during that time. He is famous for his one-take shoots and use of natural light. He makes commercials in between films.

Early life

Lawrence was born in

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England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the son of a painter who painted the royal coaches at Buckingham Palace, and later spray painted London buses for double the salary. He moved to Australia with his family in 1958 at age 11 and they settled in Victor Harbor, South Australia after spending three years in a migrant hostel in Gawler. When he left school he moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and began working in advertising. He worked for a number of years in London producing commercials. Then he returned home, established Window Productions with Glen Thomas, and became one of Australia's top directors of TV commercials.David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p172-173

Career

Lawrence's unique cinematic style has established him as one of the most respected dramatic directors of contemporary Australian cinema. While only producing three films in his 25-year career as a feature film director, all of his features have meditated around the slippery and often painful nature of 'real' human interaction. It is Lawrence's ability to illustrate intensely personal interactions between characters as they navigate through the less than 'cinematic' terrain of real life situations that has engaged his audience and earned the respect among cinema goers and critics alike. His second feature, ''

'' (2001), is one of the highest grossing Australian films ever made winning critical and popular recognition including Best film, Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards. Examining human relationships and the notion of trust, the film weaves the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy psychiatrist across the fabric of three Australian families, with each family representative of a different social class existent in contemporary Australian society.Lantana scoops AFI awards
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Private life

His son, Ben Lawrence, is also a film director.

Filmography

* ''

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'' (1985), based on the Peter Carey novel of the same name * ''

'' (2001), Andrew Bovell's adaptation of his play, ''Speaking In Tongues'', which won seven AFI Awards * '' Jindabyne'' (2006), based on

Raymond Carver Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He published his first collection of stories, '' Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?'', in 1976. His breakout collection, '' What We Talk About ...

's short story, ''So Much Water So Close to Home''The Director Interviews: Ray Lawrence, ''Jindabyne''
at ''Filmmaker Magazine''

References

External links

* 1948 births Living people Australian film directors English emigrants to Australia Film directors from London {{Australia-film-director-stub