CONFISCATED FILM

Ray was born to career military parents, in Niceville, Florida with family roots in the red clay of Augusta, Georgia. During his nomadic childhood, he lived in Spain, England, Texas and the US Southeast. He attended the prestigious Ringling School of Art and Design graduating as a Design/Illustration major, with honors.

Professional

Upon graduation from Ringling, Ray began work as an Art Director at The Hessemer-Runnoe Company, a full-service advertising agency, in Tampa, Florida. He worked in the Tampa Bay market for eight years, serving as Art Director and Associate Creative Director at several advertising agencies, including a year at the helm of his own shop until it was purchased by Louis Benito Advertising, in Tampa.

It was at Benito that Mr. Dillman’s work began to be recognized at many awards competitions on the national and international level. After strong showings at competitions like The New York Art Director’s Club, Art Director’s Club of Atlanta, Print Regional Design Annual, Communication Arts Magazine and taking Best in Show at The National Addy Awards, Tampa Bay Addy Awards and The National Obie Awards, Mr. Dillman was contacted by The Leo Burnett Company through a headhunter.

He joined Burnett, moving to their Chicago office. After initially serving as Associate Creative Director on accounts like Oldsmobile, Tropicana and Philip Morris, his abilities as a problem solver and presenter were recognized by an appointment to Burnett’s International Task Force as a Creative Director on international assignments. He worked in this capacity from 1987 to 1991, taking temporary posts in Frankfurt, London, Paris and Tokyo. At Leo Burnett’s foreign offices he organized creative teams as interim Creative Director overseeing the cultural adaptation of campaigns created in Chicago for clients like Philip Morris.

Mr. Dillman would then supervise the implementation of the work; pre-production often took place in Paris and London with large-scale photo shoots and film productions following in locations as diverse as Morocco, Algeria and Los Angeles. It was while supervising the production of a Philip Morris film project in Los Angeles that Ray met Serene Meshel, the woman who would become his wife and provide the impetus for a move to Los Angeles and a change in careers.

In 1991 he began his career as a commercial film director, at a small boutique production company, Electric Avenue Films. After three years at the Venice, California shop, he signed for representation with Avion Films in Toronto, Canada and worked independently in the US. 1999 was a breakout year for Mr. Dillman. Having signed with bicoastal production company Gartner Films a year earlier, and gaining some momentum as a dialogue director, he won that year’s Emmy Award for commercial of the year.

In 2005, Ray signed with MJZ Film Productions, Los Angeles, for commercial representation. As part of a diverse blue chip roster of commercial and feature film directors, he specialized in dialogue-driven storytelling projects.

His most recent move in the commercial arena is working under his own banner, Confiscated Film, a company he formed in 1993 for film and television projects.

In 2014 Dillman’s company completed the documentary feature “Getting to The Nutcracker”. Ray’s wife, Serene Meshel-Dillman, directed the film while he served as producer. On the festival circuit the film won a Grand Jury Prize, two Best Documentary Feature awards, Best Direction and was selected as one of ten films to New York’s First Time Fest.

Confiscated Film completed the feature length documentary “The 5th Dementia” in 2019, again helmed by Serene. In 2024 the company released the first of two seasons of “Take Me Out Feet First” a documentary series about medical aid in dying. Serene directed the series while Ray served as cinematographer and editor.

Dillman is currently in post production on “Black on the Bike” a documentary film about African American men and women in the world of amateur and professional cycling.

In 2021 he was appointed to the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, Ringling College of Art + Design, which he considers one of his most significant honors.

Personal

He is married to Serene, a documentary film director and former dancer with New York City Ballet , with four children; Elliot is owner and administrator of “Make You Well” a network of urgent care centers based in Dallas. Connor is a writer and painter who recently completed his Masters degree at The Royal College of Art in London. Grey is a 2015 Thiel Fellowship semi-finalist, and Head of R&D at Pico Grid, an AI surveillance tech company.  And 21 year old Tessa who is CrossFit badass, a Junior at The Tisch School of Photography at NYU, and the center of his universe.

Ray is a passionate cyclist who participates in Gran Fondo endurance events, is an Ambassador and ride leader for Helen’s Cycles, Santa Monica (the best bike shop you ever saw) and dearly loves hurtling, with furious enthusiasm, down steep, twisty mountain descents. 

The family resides in Pacific Palisades, California with brief annual respites on Nantucket Island.