Doug Pray

Biography

Doug Pray is an American documentary film director, cinematographer, and editor who often explores unique subcultures in his films. His work includes Surfwise (2008) a portrait of the nomadic, 11-member Doc Paskowitz family (often referred to as the "first family of surfing"); Big Rig (2008), a documentary about truck drivers; Infamy (2005), a documentary about graffiti culture; Red Diaper Baby (2004) a solo-performance film starring Josh Kornbluth; Scratch (2001), a documentary about turntablism and DJ culture; and his first feature, Hype! (1996), a documentary about the explosion and exploitation of the Seattle grunge scene of the early '90's. His most recent film Art & Copy, premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, is about advertising and creativity and was distributed by PBS. In addition to his documentaries, Doug Pray has directed a number of non-fiction style commercials and commissioned short films. In 2006, he won an Emmy award in for an advocacy campaign about HIV-AIDS awareness. Doug Pray was born in Denver, Colorado, he grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, has a BA in sociology from Colorado College, and an MFA from UCLA's School of Film and Television. He resides in Los Angeles and is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.