Introduction
Director Michael Del Monte, following his Hot Docs Audience Award winner Transformer, presents a moving character study in His Name Is Ray. The film was inspired by a moment when Del Monte realized how easily he—and many others—ignored Ray during daily commutes, distracted by phones or radios instead of seeing the person at the window. The film shows what happens when we truly pause to acknowledge the humanity on the other side.
His Name Is Ray offers a raw and intimate look at Ray, a former sailor living on Toronto’s east end streets. Surviving day to day by panhandling and finding shelter wherever possible, Ray’s life is shaped by homelessness and addiction. Del Monte’s camera captures his vulnerability and resilience as he navigates moments of clarity and the harsh realities of heroin, alcohol, and fentanyl use.
Ray’s story unfolds without pity or sensationalism. When $700 owed to a dealer goes missing, the stakes in his fragile world rise sharply. Yet, amid the struggle, the film finds quiet moments of reflection and connection. Shot solo, Del Monte gains rare access and trust, revealing a man often overlooked.
Visually striking against Toronto’s skyline, the film resists turning Ray into a symbol, instead honoring his full humanity—flaws, humor, and all. His Name Is Ray tells one life’s story within a larger crisis, reminding us of the real people behind the headlines with respect and grace.
Quotes
“He’ll smack you in the head and stuff like that. I don’t feel like going there spending $50 bucks and getting smacked in the head, you know what I mean, when I got a needle in my arm, that’s not my thing to do. So I kind of cut him off right, I go to other people and now that what he’s done, he’s realized this and he’s gone to all my other people and threatened them, and now I can’t go to them because they won’t deal with me because they’re scared of him.”
“I truly need it for pain, I just overdo it a little bit, I indulge in it … because you do get a good feeling off of it right, but there’s consequences to a good feeling.”
“This sunset on the water is just beautiful. That’s what I just die for – the sunrises and the sunfall, I just miss it so much.”
“You can say you don’t talk to your parents but think about what we’ve done for you and we can’t do it anymore for you Raymond. We can’t take it anymore with you. It’s very sad Raymond. We can’t understand your situation actually because we’ve never been into anything like that. Oh, by the way, you’re a grandfather again, a little girl. You haven’t seen her yet, Raymond. You know what your daughter said about you? I said, it’s so sad that Raymond isn’t here at the wedding, we’ve sort of given up on him. She said, we never give up on anybody. She hasn’t given up on you.”
“I know this isn’t the best way of doing things but at the moment this is the only way.”
“One of these days I’m going to get back on the water. It doesn’t take a lot of money, just the right time, right place. I don’t need a nice, expensive sailboat, just something to get me on the water moving.”
“Because you are our friend, I’d rather you do it here so we can save your life as opposed to doing it somewhere else where you can’t be saved.”
“This is the fentanyl, it’s not heroin at all. It’s a synthetic opiate and that’s about a point, $20-$25 … with this stuff here, it’s so hard to tell how much you’re putting in your system. That’s why so many people are ODing because they take a shot of a normal dosage that you take regularly and they go under.”
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