Murray Forrest

Alan Tom Murray Tim ACP pic.jpg

Murray Forrest emigrated to Australia in 1964. Having studied Economics in his native Scotland, he landed in Sydney with a letter of introduction for an entry-level bank job, to start the following week. 

Meanwhile, Murray heard about a junior position at a company that sold motion picture cameras and editing equipment. He got the job, and the bank released him to follow his dream.

Six months in, Murray’s co-workers encouraged him to apply for a vacancy at Colorfilm. He got the job and stayed with the company for forty-four years, the last thirty as Managing Director.  He learnt much from his boss and mentor, Phil Budden, whose philosophy was: ‘be fair, be firm, be nice’.

Murray Forrest became MD of Colorfilm in 1978 when Phil Budden retired after fifty years (1928-1978, with the organisation evolving from the original Commonwealth Filmcraft in 1928 to Colorfilm in 1961). When Murray took over and merged Colorfilm with Atlab, there were around 250 employees; there were about 400 by the time Murray retired from Atlab in 2008.

Murray developed Atlab from a small black and white lab operation servicing newsreels, television and Film Australia documentaries to a broad-based creative services and distribution business and Australia’s leading post-production facility. He moved the business into colour high-speed printing; equipment manufacture; video post-production and expanded the lab's services to SE Asia and then into servicing release print contracts with the major Hollywood studios. Murray’s last job prior to retiring was to oversee the merger of Atlab with Deluxe.

His brilliant career is signposted with various awards and honours, including:

  • Founding Chair, Ausfilm (1994)

  • Director, Screen Producers Association of Australia 1982–1996, Life Membership 2008

  • President, The Australian Cinema Pioneers (1991)

  • Director, Federation of Producers of Asia (1978–1984)

  • Chairman (1982-85) & Governor (1980-85) of US-based The Society of Motion Picture Television Engineers. First Australian appointed to SMPTE Board of Governors.  

  • Awarded Fellowships to The British Kinematograph Sound and Television Society in 1988 (first Australian) and The Society of Motion Picture Television Engineers (1986)

  • Received The Ken G Hall Award in 2001 (awarded by AFI & National Film & Sound Archive) in recognition of his contribution to the preservation of Australia's film heritage

  • Australian Cinema Pioneer of The Year (2004)

  • Motion Picture Exhibitors Association of QLD Lifetime Achievement Award 2004

  • Australian International Movie Convention initiated the Murray Forrest Award for Film Craft in 2008 – winners include Gillian Armstrong, Dr George Miller, John Seale

In 2019, Murray Forrest was honored with the Society of Australian Cinema Pioneers’ Inaugural Humanitarian Award, presented to him by Alan Rydge.

In 2020, Murray was presented with Life Membership of the Motion Picture Industry Benevolent Society, following 30 years of service. In 2021, he celebrates 25 years as MPIBS Chairman.

Image: Peter Jackson, PJP for AIMC