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{{short description|American film director}}

'''Robinson Devor''' is an American film director, screenwriter and editor. He is also a film professor at Cornish College of the Arts.

[[File:Robinson Devor.jpg|thumb|Devor in New York, 2017]]

{{Infobox person

Devor has directed both documentaries as well as fiction films; his filmography includes narrative works such as ''[[The Woman Chaser]]'' (1999) and ''[[Police Beat]]'' (2005), and his documentary work includes ''[[Zoo (2007 film)|Zoo]]'' (2007), and ''Pow Wow'' (2018).<ref name="powwow">{{cite news|last=Upchurch|first=Michael|date=March 1, 2018|title=‘Pow Wow’: Seattle director ponders stunning California valley|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/pow-wow/|access-date=September 15, 2020}}</ref> His work as an editor includes the 2017 feature ''Wallflower''.<ref name="Wallflower">{{cite news|last=Harvey|first=Dennis|date=June 13, 2017|title=Film Review: ‘Wallflower’|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/wallflower-review-1202463549/|access-date=September 15, 2020}}</ref>

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'''Robinson Devor''' is an American film director, screenwriter and editor. He is also a film professor at [[Cornish College of the Arts]].

Devor has directed both documentaries as well as fiction films; his filmography includes narrative works such as ''[[The Woman Chaser]]'' (1999) and ''[[Police Beat]]'' (2005), and his documentary work includes ''[[Zoo (2007 film)|Zoo]]'' (2007), and ''Pow Wow'' (2018) and ''Suburban Fury (2024).''

== Early life ==

Devor was raised in Westchester County in New York. After attaining his BFA in Film from [[Southern Methodist University|SMU]], Devor moved to Los Angeles, where he became a regular attendee at the [[New Beverly Cinema]] . He considered becoming a poet and applied to study under [[James Dickey]] at the [[University of South Carolina]], but an unexpected job offer in Africa<ref name="nitrint">{{cite news|last=Lybarger|first=Dan|date=August 4, 2000|title=The Woman Chaser: Interview with Robinson Devor|work=Nitrate Online|url=https://nitrateonline.com/2000/fwomanchaser.html|access-date=September 15, 2020}}</ref> diverted him for a year. During that time he made enough money to develop and edit the footage of his first documentary ''Angelyne'' (1995).

==Career==

===''Angelyne'' (1995)===

Devor’sDevor's first short documentary ''Angelyne'' was a half-hour, black and white 16mm film co-directed by Michael Guccioni. Devor met Guccioni at a weekly avant-garde film night in Los Angeles, where the two chose to work on a collaborative project as co-directors. ''Angelyne'' captured a day in the life of the self-made LA billboard queen, [[Angelyne]]. The film premiered at the New York Underground Film Festival, where [[The Village Voice]] called it “a visual knockout”.

=== ''[[The Woman Chaser]]'' (1999) ===

Devor’sDevor's first feature film, ''The Woman Chaser'',  debuted at the 1999 [[New York Film Festival]] and then at [[Sundance Film Festival|Sundance]]. Devor had acquired the rights to the 1960 Charles Willeford novel and adapted the book into a screenplay. The story centers around a used car salesman who decides to become a film director. The film received critical high marks throughout its USU.S. theatrical run and  became a [[cult classic]].

[[File:Still from 'The Woman Chaser'.png|thumb|[[Patrick Warburton]] in Devor's first feature film, ''The Woman Chaser''.]]

Devor’s first feature film, ''The Woman Chaser'',  debuted at the 1999 [[New York Film Festival]] and then at [[Sundance Film Festival|Sundance]]. Devor had acquired the rights to the 1960 Charles Willeford novel and adapted the book into a screenplay. The story centers around a used car salesman who decides to become a film director. The film received critical high marks throughout its US theatrical run and became a [[cult classic]].

''The Woman Chaser'' was released on VHS in Stereo in its black-and-white version in 2000 by Tribe Enterprises/The GLOBAL Asylum.

=== ''[[Police Beat]]'' (2005) ===

Devor’sDevor's second feature film, ''Police Beat'', was nominated for the Grand Prize at the 2005 [[Sundance Film Festival]]. The film was a loose adaptation of [[Charles Mudede’sMudede]]’s weekly column, Police Beat, and itfocused receivedon criticala acclaim,Muslim-African eventuallyborn lovesick bike cop in Seattle. beingIt was named one of the year's best films by Film Comment and Art Forum. For his efforts, Devor was nominated for an Indie Spirit Award. The filmIt has been included in the permanent collection of the [[Museum of Modern Art]].

=== ''[[Zoo (2007 film)|Zoo]]'' (2007) ===

Devor's next documentary, ''Zoo'', also a collaboration with Mudede, made its world premierpremiere at the [[2007 Sundance Film Festival]], and then went on to play at the [[Cannes Film Festival]] in the Director’sDirector's Fortnight Section. The film was based on a true story about a Seattle engineer who died while having sex with a horse. The film was named as "one of the Best 15 Documentaries of the 2000s" by [[Taste of Cinema]].

=== ''Pow Wow'' (2018) ===

Devor ‘s 2018 feature documentary [[''Pow Wow: An Anthropological Study of the Members of the Indian Desert Country Club]]'', a collaboration with writer Michael McConville, debuted at the [[Locarno Film Festival]] and then in the US at [[Lincoln Center]] (Art of the Real). It was named one of the best films of the year by [[Richard Brody]] of [[The New Yorker]].

=== Future''[[Suburban ProjectsFury]]'' (2024) ===

Robinson Devor ‘s newest documentary, “Suburban Fury” debuted at the 2024 New York Film Festival and went on to win the Grand Prize for Documentaries at the 2025 Seattle International Film Festival. The film achieved a 100% percent Rotten Tomatoes score, with Variety calling it “a rapt documentary thriller.”

Devor is currently in post-production on the feature film [[You Can't Win|''You Can't Win'']], starring Michael Pitt. He's also in production on a documentary about [[Sara Jane Moore|Sarah Jane Moore]], the woman who attempted to assassinate [[Gerald Ford|President Gerald Ford]] in 1975.

Devor is entering pre-production on an adaptation of Kenneth Patchen’s novel ''[[The Journal of Albion Moonlight]]''. The plot centers on a New York City shoe salesman who drives to Nebraska to stand by the victim of a hate crime that may or may not have happened.

Devor's collaborated with writer Patrick Radoci on a TV pilot called ''Coup d’Etat: How I Was Part of the Problem and Became a Problem For The Problem''. The satirical dark comedy is about a history professor at a Northwest university who leads his students down the path of revolution.

==References==

{{reflist}}

<small>3.</small> <small>Brody, Richard. “One Must-See New Movie, and Two Older Ones, That Expand Documentary Filmmaking.” ''The New Yorker'', [https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/one-must-see-new-movie-and-two-older-ones-that-expand-documentary-filmmaking www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/one-must-see-new-movie-and-two-older-ones-that-expand-documentary-filmmaking].</small>

<small>4. Petrillo, Zac. “The 15 Best Documentaries of The 2000s.” ''Taste of Cinema - Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists'', 24 Oct. 2014, [http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/the-15-best-documentaries-of-the-2000s/ www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/the-15-best-documentaries-of-the-2000s/].</small>

==External links==

* {{IMDb name|0222894}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devor, Robinson}}

[[Category:American documentary film directors]]

[[Category:American film directors]]

[[Category:American film editors]]

[[Category:Living people]]

[[Category:Place of birth unknown]]

[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]

[[Category:People from Westchester County, New York]]

[[Category:Film directors from New York (state)]]

[[Category:Southern Methodist University alumni]]

[[Category:Cornish College of the Arts faculty]]

[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]