Ray Smiling
kamikaze (Trailer)
Ray Smiling’s work focuses on finding emotional truth in absurd moments. A drunk man comforted by a camgirl dressed as a Star Wars character, a trip into a virtual reality love letter, a requiem brought on by a vulgar rap song. These are the moments he authors. The specificity and comedy of the situation heightens the sentiment in surprisingly effective ways.
He’s drawn to subcultures, outsiders, and people experiencing darkly comic moments. The stories he creates around these people are naturalistic, beautiful, with a distinct visual flair. They feature characters you feel like you already know, in situations both funny and emotionally rich. Basically, you can tell you’re watching something he made, if you’re feeling feelings, about a thing you never thought you’d feel feelings about.
In 2023 he was named Best New Director by AdAge. He’s best known for the award winning quarantine web series KHAKI IS NOT LEATHER—an exploration of the loneliness of the internet, magnified by lockdown. The series focuses on camgirls/boys and their clients; eschewing titillation for deep dives into desires and fears. In it a romance blooms over a shared love of Tilda Swinton and a woman reveals her isolation via her love of ghosts. It premiered on Nowness, and Vulture called it “an A24 wet dream.”
His series PLAY THIS AT MY FUNERAL tells stories of personal connections to music. It’s a celebration of the joy and power of the art form, as revealed through NYC specific vignettes. An intimate prompt that asks you to consider the specific music that makes you cry, or feel elation. The songs that you’d play at your funeral and only a few people would know why.
His short film ORNAMENTATION IS A GIFT was the winner of the best short at the 2021 Bowery Film Fest. It’s a poetic coming-of-age story of a young girl dealing with the effects of bullying, death, and loneliness—through beauty. It’s an elliptical story that speaks to the armor we all don to survive a hostile world.
Music is at the core of everything Ray makes. In a past life he was a music journalist and ran a boutique record label. This has led to consistently diverse and unexpected music choices in all of his soundtracks to create startling emotional triggers.
Ray has also spent years in the world of advertising as a creative director for brands like Adidas, Under Armour, Covergirl, the NBA, Beats By Dre, and Amazon Music.