Born in Nova Scotia and raised in England, Alison Murray lived for many years in Argentina. Murray’s latest feature, ARIEL BACK TO BUENOS AIRES, is currently streaming on Amazon Prime, Apple TV and on HBOMAX in Central/ Eastern Europe. It is the story of a brother and sister who travel to Argentina, country of their birth, for the first time as adults. There they fall in love with tango and discover some dark family secrets about their family’s emigration. The film garnered a slew of festival prizes including Best International Feature at SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Best Foreign Feature at ARIZONA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Jury Prize at MUMBAI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Audience Award at the WOODS HOLE FILM FESTIVAL, and played at more than 30 festivals worldwide.
Murray is currently developing the series Cha Cha Cha! with Producer Jennifer Weiss – an energetic half hour dance dramedy in which a repressed gen X, divorcing-in-the-first-episode woman seeks romance through Latin dance. She is also developing the psychological thriller series MY LIE based on the book by Meredith Maran. Told across two timelines, My Lie juxtaposes the mass panic of the Repressed Memory Movement in the late 1980s with a present-day homicide investigation. MY LIE taps into the cultural anxieties of the ‘80s while delivering a modern, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller, layered with the moral ambiguity that made Baby Reindeer a phenomenon. Finally, Murray has acquired the rights to PACIFIQUE, a first novel by Sarah Taggart , which she is adapting into a feature screenplay. It’s the story of a love triangle in which one of the participants may not exist, grappling with mental health issues and fantasy.
Murray began directing music videos in the UK in the 1990’s, as well as working on the BBC series DANCE FOR THE CAMERA. Her short films have played in retrospectives at the Tate Gallery London, the Institute for Contemporary Art London, and the Royal Cinema Toronto. Murray has participated in the Berlinale Talent Campus, the Rotterdam Coproduction Market, IFP No Borders and the Ontario Creates International Financing Forum. Her short films have been shown at the Centre Georges Pompidou , Paris, The Tate Gallery, London, and the Royal Cinema, Toronto.
Murray directed two live theatre works, at the Beurs Theatre, Brussels, and Stuc/Klapstuc Brussels. She has also choreographed for the Royal Opera House Garden Venture at the Institute of Contemporary Art, London and contributed the film elements to the theatre work of Marisa Carnesky. She made her first documentary in 2000 with TRAIN ON THE BRAIN (Channel 4/TVO) in which she rode the rails across North America with a group of teenage hobos. She followed up with her first dramatic feature MOUTH TO MOUTH (Best Feature, Brooklyn International Film Festival ). Murray wrote and directed CARNY for the Sundance Channel (Hot Docs, Best Documentary, Brooklyn International Film Festival). She also made the documentary CAPRICHOSOS DE SAN TELMO (TIFF). In 2014 Murray won the Buenos Aires Tango Championship dancing with her husband Carlos Boeri.
“Trusting other people will put your
ass in jeopardy every time.”
How Sherry loses her virginity, her illusions and her lip ring in a road trip across Europe. Sherry is searching for a place to belong where she can still be herself. She thinks she has found this in SPARK – Street People Armed with Radical Knowledge. She takes off in SPARK’s camper van as they cross Europe recruiting a membership of the down and out. They arrive at a disused vineyard in Portugal that will be their paradise.Harry, the group’s leader, begins harvesting ripe grapes and ready minds through his own methods of hard work and punishment. The stakes are high within this volatile group. Two deaths ensure the submission of most of the recruits – but not Sherry, or the apparently craziest street person, Mad Ax.
Mad Ax is the least taken in by SPARK’s rhetoric. He is also in love with Sherry. Into this Shangri-la comes Sherry’s mother. Failing to persuade Sherry to leave, she decides that SPARK has more to offer than single parenthood in London. Disillusionment complete, Sherry stands up for what she knows is right, denounces SPARK, and escapes with Mad Ax into the unknown.
Watch the full film here.
NB password is ins0mnia (that is a zero not an ‘oh’ )
In what’s been called ‘The definitive train hopping doc’, filmmaker Alison Murray drops out of the rat race, grabs a camera, and hits the rails with some punk kids on a trans-continental freight train hopping adventure. On their odyssey they encounter a cast of hobos and runaways, scallywags and castaways. Amidst run-ins with the law, and surviving the perils of the elements, Alison weaves her narrative film over beautifully shot 8mm film and digital video with an old-time sounding soundtrack by Beck.
Train On The Brain was originally produced for Channel 4 in the UK by Hellhound and MJW Productions.
Watch the full length film here.
“An intimate, gritty and poetic adventure following the lives of carnies – traveling fairground workers who have abandoned the security of the “real world” for the refuge and variety of the road. Through the eyes of Hairy, the charismatic lesbian cotton-candy seller, we see a world of unlikely Romeos, easy love and fierce friendships that obscure personal hardship and troubled pasts. Often from an underclass that has few options, the carnies struggle with addiction, loneliness, poverty and shattered dreams, finding solace only in the company of their own, who accept them as they are. Some have worked the fairs for more than 50 years, some were born or escaped into it, but all are gripped by the romance of the bright midway lights, lyrically captured captured by director Alison Murray (Mouth to Mouth) in lush interludes of Kodachrome Super 8.” ~ Gisèle Gordon, Hot Docs)
A collaboration with photographer Virginia Lee Hunter, based on her book – Carny, Americana on the Midway.
Watch the full movie here.
A portrait of the working class musicians and dancers of Buenos Aires’ San Telmo neighbourhood, who have channeled the city’s many cultural influences into the street performance called murga.
Every year, a taxi driver named Pichi (Hector Roterio) assembles a group of locals to train for the annual parade. At first glance, they don’t look promising. Sergio has clearly led a hard life and has already lost some of his teeth, but turns out to be a surprisingly fluid dancer. Maria Eva tries to hold down an entry-level job, but she comes alive teaching murga moves to the new girls. Under her watchful eye, they practice the murga’s bigbeat rhythms and its accompanying steps. Murga is a remnant of Argentina’s former African communities, but is now practiced by anyone in the neighborhood who can surrender to its pull.
Watch the full length film here.
2022 1 hour 36 min
Dramatic Feature Canada/Argentina/ Uruguay
Cepa Cine / Hellhound Productions
World Sales House of Film
North American Distributor Level 33
Ariel: Back to Buenos Aires has now picked up several best feature awards, including SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, ARIZONA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL and LATINO FILM MARKET NYC. The movie also won the Jury Prize at the MUMBAI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL and Audience Award at WOODS HOLE FILM FESTIVAL, and has played at 20+ festivals worldwide.
Now streaming in the US and Canada. AVAILABLE ON HBOMAX IN CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE.
We’re excited to announce that Alison has been selected to participate in the Directors Guild of Canada / National Directors Division Director Mentor Program 2025, working with mentor Clement Virgo. She is one of ten up and coming DGC directors selected from across the country to participate.
Alison Murray’s Horseplay, made in 1995, will screen as part of the program Halcyon Days: Radical Short Films of the 1990s on January 17, 2025 in the UK. Hosted by the London Short Film Festival for its opening night at the Curzon Soho, the event also features work from Peter Strickland, Carol Morley, Andrea Luka Zimmerman and Alnoor Dewshi.
As of September 1st, Ariel: Back to Buenos Aires is streaming on HBOMAX and CINEMAX in Central and Eastern Europe.
“In the midst of Ariel searching relentlessly for answers of origin, the dance never stops. The film includes the most gorgeous Tango scenes of our time… “ Valerie Milano interviews Alison about Ariel for a recent article in The Hollywood Times. Read and watch here. Fairweather Murray comments: “This film tackles the challenging themes of identity and family secrets, enveloping them with the beauty of Buenos Aires and the sensuality of tango. The story reflects my experiences falling in love with tango. At the heart of this film lies the revelation of truth, both personal and political.” Read the full article in English and Spanish here. “… a strong character piece, all set to pretty captivating tango music and peppered with a lot of dancing ” Read more here. ” … ARIEL: BACK TO BUENOS AIRES is not just a feast for the eyes but also a thought-provoking delve into the annals of history, personal revelations, and the charming allure of Argentine tango.” Read more here.The Hollywood Times
CineVista Blog Article
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