Ismaël Auray studied film at the New York Film Academy and Concordia University. He has made more than a dozen short films. In 2007, he won the INIS young artist award for his participation in the "Course Estrie" competition. His most recent short film, Cabaret de la dernière chance, was shown at the Cannes film festival in a "personal favourites" selection programmed by Danny Lennon. Cabaret de la dernière chance was also shown at Filmets in Barcelona, at the Festival international de cinéma francophone en Acadie in Moncton, at the Shnit Shortfilm Festival in Berne and the Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois in Montreal. The film won the jury prize in the fiction film by a young artist category at the Vidéastes recherché.es festival. Cabaret de la dernière chance was also honoured with the Technicolor prize at Concordia University for the quality of its direction and cinematography.