Biography
Paul Gray is Associate Professor in Film and Subject Leader for Screen & Performing Arts, Edinburgh Napier University.
Paul’s practice led research interests are the delineation between fiction and non-fiction narratives within film making; film as a means of story-telling and introspective re-enactment; and the significance of anonymity in story-telling, when collaborating with vulnerable individuals and communities.
Paul has been involved in creative arts and higher education for over twenty years and was Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Film for 10 years (2012-22), where he led on the design and continuing development of the programme curriculum with a remit of enhancing employability. A key driver was to offer greater work related learning opportunities, engagement with external employers and coherency in delivery for specialist roles, so that students graduate with the skills required for the highly specialised film and television industry. During this time BA (Hons) Film increased in ranking from 37th to number 1 for Film Production & Photography (1st of 67, The Guardian University Guide 2021).
His film-making practice includes writing, directing and producing. He has directed a number of short films, including two documentaries, Half Way Home (Make Dox, Macedonia, 2010; London Short Film Festival, 2009; broadcast on SBS Australia, 2008) and Skiens, both of which premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival (2008) and were nominated for Best Scottish Documentary. His short drama, Tree of Tule (2012) was nominated for Best British Short at EIFF.
And Violet (2017) was Paul’s debut feature film, which screened at a number of festivals and events, including Arizona International Film Festival, where it was the winner of both the Best Dramatic Feature Award and a Special Jury Award for Best Performance.
Paul directed On the Outside (2019), which was co-written in collaboration with four women who were serving sentences in HM Prison and Young Offenders Institution Polmont. On the Outside won best International Film at Alexandria Film Festival, Virginia, 2019, was shortlisted in the Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community category of the Times Higher Education Awards 2019, and the Partnership Award, The Herald Higher Education Awards 2019
Paul’s undergraduate study was in photography at Edinburgh College of Art (1992), before completing an MA in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art, London (1996) and an MFA Advanced Film Practice at Screen Academy Scotland (2006).