# Paul Devlin (filmmaker)

Paul Josiah Devlin is an American independent filmmaker. He is also a professional video editor, often working in sports broadcasting.

## Early life and education

Devlin was born in 1963. While attending high school in New Jersey, Devlin penned a now widely-shared "I reject your rejection" letter to the admissions department at Harvard University. The letter was published twice in the New York times, copied and re-purposed, as well as performed by prominent actors onstage through the London-based group Letters Live. Himesh Patel performed the letter at the Royal Albert Hall in October 2022.
While attending the University of Michigan, Devlin produced, directed and edited his first documentary Rockin' Brunswick starring Matt Pinfield; broadcast his first music video "You Don't Know Me" on MTV's Basement Tapes, hosted by Billy Crystal; participated in a screenwriting workshop led by Lawrence Kasdan; and worked as a production assistant on Robert Altman's Secret Honor, filmed in Ann Arbor. Devlin graduated with a BA in English and Language Literature.

## Career
### Filmmaking

Devlin's professional career began in Hong Kong, at Take Two Film and Video, where he edited a movie for the Hong Kong Tourist Association's Inside Hong Kong.
Devlin's first independent film was a scripted feature that he wrote, directed and produced called The Eyes of St. Anthony, starring James McAffrey.
He produced, directed and edited the television pilot Slammin - The Sport of Spoken Word, which documented a semi-final poetry slam at the Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City and was nominated for a New York Emmy Award for Outstanding Fine Art Programming.
This project led to Devlin’s first feature-length documentary, SlamNation, which followed the Nuyorican Poet’s Café’s poetry slam team, as it competed in the 1996 National Poetry Slam in Portland, Oregon. Starring Saul Williams, The film premiered at the SXSW Film Festival, was released theatrically across the U.S. by the Cinema Guild, and broadcast on HBO.
Devlin was the producing editor of Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme, which won best documentary at the Woodstock Film Festival, was broadcast on VH1, and distributed by Palm Pictures.
Devlin produced, directed, and edited the feature documentary Power Trip. The film follows the acquisition of Telasi, the electricity distribution company of Tbilisi, Georgia, by an American utility, AES Corporation. Reviewing Power Trip during its theatrical release, Variety wrote, "Made with deft evenhandedness, Paul Devlin's accomplished film plays almost like a fictional drama, containing suspense, comedy and some colorful characters." The Hollywood Reporter commented that Power Trip was “an effective microcosmic portrait of the vast political, social and economic changes endured by the region." The film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, where it won two awards, awarded by Transparency International, and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Documentary. Power Trip was broadcast in over 60 countries including PBS’s Independent Lens.
Devlin’s next feature documentary, BLAST!, follows the launch of the telescope BLAST in Antarctica. The film premiered at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto and theatrically at the IFC Center in New York City.
Devlin’s feature documentary The Front Man, follows the rock and roll band Loaded Poets over the course of 27 years. The film premiered at Cinequest Film Festival and screened at the IFC Center in New York as part of Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers documentary film series “Stranger Than Fiction.” The Front Man is distributed by The Orchard.

### Sports broadcasting

Devlin's career in sports broadcasting began when he was hired locally in Seoul, Korea, by NBC Sports to work as a runner at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad.
Devlin won three Emmys for his work on CBS’s Tour de France and two for NBC’s Olympic Games. He was the Supervising Editor for CBS Sports at the Nagano Olympics and has worked with CBS Sports on NFL broadcasts and NCAA Basketball Tournament coverage since 1998.

## Personal life

Devlin is married to Emily Raabe.

## Awards and recognition

Devlin has won eight Emmy Awards for his work in sports broadcasting. His films have received awards at Berlin International Film Festival, Hot Docs, and the Florida Film Festival.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2022 | Yankees-Dodgers: An Uncivil War | Editor |
| 2019 | A Beautiful Lie | Producer, Editor |
| 2014 | The Front Man | Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor |
| 2008 | BLAST! | Director, Producer, Editor, Camera Operator |
| 2003 | Power Trip | Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor |
| 2000 | Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme | Producer, Editor, Producing Editor |
| 1998 | SlamNation | Director, Producer, Editor |
| 1984 | Secret Honor | Production Assistant |

### Television

| YEAR | TITLE | ROLE |
| 1998–Present | The NFL Today | Editor |
| 2023 | Southern Hoops: A History of SEC Basketball | Editor |
| 2022 | Beijing 2022: XXIV Olympic Winter Games | Editor |
| 2021 | Tokyo 2020: Games of the XXXII Olympiad | Editor |
| 2019-2020 | The Athletic (3 episodes) | Editor |
| 2016 | Super Bowl 50 | Editor |
| 2013 | Super Bowl XLVII | Editor |
| 2008 | Tour de France 2008 | Producer |
| 2007 | Super Bowl XLI | Editor |
| 2005 | Independent Lens (1 episode) | Director, Producer |
| 2004 | Super Bowl XXXVIII | Editor |
| 2003 | Tour de France 2003 | Editor |
| 2001 | Tour de France 2001 | Producer |
| 2001 | Super Bowl XXXV | Editor |
| 1998 | Nagano 1998: XVIII Olympic Winter Games | Editor |
| 1996 | Atlanta 1996: Games of the XXVI Olympiad | Editor |
| 1995 | Slammin': The Sport of Spoken Word | Director, Producer |
| 1992 | Barcelona 1992: Games of the XXV Olympiad | Editor |