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'''Robinson Devor''' is an American film director, screenwriter and screenwritereditor. He is also a film professor at Cornish College of the Arts.
[[File:Robinson Devor.jpg|thumb|Devor in New York, 2017]]
SinceDevor 1999,has directed both documentaries as well as fiction films; his filmography includes narrative works such as ''[[The Woman Chaser]]'' (1999) and ''[[Police Beat]]'' (2005)., Devorand hashis directeddocumentary bothwork documentaries as well as fiction films; these includeincludes ''[[Zoo (2007 film)|Zoo]]'', for which he won a special award at the 2000 [[Florida Film Festival]],<ref name="iwint">{{cite news|date=April 26, (2007|title=indieWIRE INTERVIEW : "Zoo" Director Robinson Devor and Writer Charles Mudede|work=[[IndieWire]]|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2007/04/indiewire-interview-zoo-director-robinson-devor-and-writer-charles-mudede-74710/|access-date=September 15), 2020}}</ref> 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> HeHis has also worked on filmswork as an editor, includingincludes 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>
He currently teaches Advanced Narrative Filmmaking at the [[Cornish College of the Arts]].
== 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’s first short documentary ''Angelyne'' was a half-hour, black and white 16mm film co-directed by Michael Guccioni. ItDevor 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) ===
[[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 novelbook 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]].
=== ''[[Police Beat]]'' (2005) ===
Devor’s narrativesecond 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’s weekly column, Police Beat., and Itit received critical acclaim, andeventually wasbeing 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 film washas been included in the permanent collection of the [[Museum of Modern Art]].
=== ''[[Zoo (2007 film)|Zoo]]'' (2007) ===
Devor's next documentary, ''Zoo'', made its world premier at the [[2007 Sundance Film Festival]], and then went on to play at the [[Cannes Film Festival]] in the Director’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'' (20162018) ===
Robinson Devor ‘s 2018 feature documentary ''[[Pow Wow: An Anthropological Study of the Members of the Indian Desert Country Club'']] debuted atthe [[Locarno Film Festival]] and then in the US at [[Lincoln Center]] (Art of the Real).
=== Future Projects ===
Mr. Devor is currently in post-production on the feature film [[You Can't Win|''You Can't Win'' (TBD)]], andstarring enteringMichael Pitt. He's also in pre-production on ''Coupa d’Etat:documentary Howabout I[[Sara WasJane PartMoore|Sarah ofJane Moore]], the Problemwoman andwho Becameattempted ato Problemassassinate For[[Gerald TheFord|President Problem''Gerald Ford]] in (TBD)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==
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