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Gary Hamilton began his twenty-five year career in the film industry in 1978 as editor of Australia's only film magazine at the time, Hoyts Movie News. He became advertising manager of Hoyts, then Victorian Manager and then General Sales Manager of United Artists in 1980, responsible for theatrical distribution in Australia. Two years later Gary re-joined Hoyts to become General Manager of Distribution in Australia. In 1984 Hamilton left Australia to head the Australian Film Commission in Europe. He traveled extensively to every major film festival and market in the world helping to raise finance and sell many Australian film and television products including Sweetie, The Piano, and The Navigator, and developed lasting relationships with major Australian directors and producers.

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Hamilton returned to Australia in 1990 to start Beyond Films, Australia's first foreign feature films sales company. Over of the course of ten years, the company grew into one of the world's most successful and highly regarded foreign sales companies. He acquired, sold and marketed over 150 films including one of Australia's biggest international hits, Strictly Ballroom. Beyond Films has acquired rights to Australia's largest library of over 130 Australian films including Love Serenade, Chopper, and Two Hands; and has been involved in launching the careers of such talents as Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Baz Luhrman, Hugh Jackman and Heath Ledger.

In April 2002 after 12 years with Beyond Films, Hamilton founded Arclight Films as co-owner with former Strand Releasing's Victor Syrmis. The new International Sales and Production company is partnered with one of the UK's most prolific production companies, The Spice Factory, and focuses on selling medium to high budget feature films, capitalizing on subsidies available in Europe, Canada and Australia.

Arclight Films was launched at Cannes in 2002 where it enjoyed enormous success with the Spice Factory film Bollywood Queen which was also selected for the Sundance Film Festival the same year.

Last year Hamilton launched a new genre division for the company, Darclight, with the classic horror film The Last Sign starring Andie McDowell; the futuristic martial arts Silverhawk, starring Michelle Yeoh; Hong Kong's biggest film of 2003 The Twins Effect, featuring Jackie Chan; and Deck Dogz, featuring legendary US twelve times World Champion Tony Hawk, written and directed by Steve Pasvolsky, Academy Award Nominee for Inja.