Biography
David Devine, born and raised in Toronto, earned an Honours BA in English from Victoria College at the University of Toronto, followed by a Master of Fine Arts in film production from UCLA Film School. In 1982, he founded Devine Videoworks and has since collaborated closely with his partner, producer/director Richard Mozer. As the creative lead, David directed 11 of the company's 21 major films. These works have garnered over 110 international awards, including 5 Emmy Awards and 5 Gemini Awards.
David's dedication to family-friendly musical entertainment began in 1985 with A Young Children's Concert with Raffi, which he produced and directed; the video achieved multi-platinum sales in both the U.S. and Canada. In 1989, he produced and directed Raffi in Concert with the Rise and Shine Band, which earned a Gemini Award and nominations for both Grammy and CableACE Awards in the United States.
His first dramatic film, Beethoven Lives Upstairs (1989), an HBO Special, won the 1993 Primetime Emmy Award for Best Children's Program. It was also inducted into the Permanent Collection of the Museum of Radio and Television Arts in New York and received numerous film festival accolades. David won the International Monitor Award for Best Director of a Children's Program for this work.
In 1994, Devine Entertainment Corporation launched The Composers' Specials, a CableACE Award-winning series co-created by David, who produced the series and directed two of its six episodes: Rossini's Ghost (1996) and Bizet's Dream (1994). Bizet's Dream earned him his first of three Alliance for Children's Television Awards of Excellence. He also produced five accompanying CD soundtracks with the Slovak Philharmonic.
David went on to produce The Inventors' Specials, directing episodes on Einstein, Galileo, and Edison. In 1999, his films received nine Emmy nominations—five for Edison: The Wizard of Light (1998) and four for Galileo: On the Shoulders of Giants (1997)—with Devine Entertainment winning three Emmy Awards. He continued with The Artists' Specials, producing six new HBO original family films and directing three: Degas, Rembrandt, and Monet. Degas won the HUMANITAS Award, while Mary Cassatt: American Impressionist (1999) earned two Emmy nominations and won one Emmy, marking the company's fifth Emmy win.
Between 2007 and 2008, David served as Executive Producer for the Canadian mini-series Across the River to Motor City, which received seven Gemini Award nominations. In 2010, he founded Educated Pictures, a private company focused on creating digital interactive educational content. In 2021, David planned to direct and produce his 21st film, The Runner, a feature about the first and only Canadian to win the 1906 Olympic Marathon in Athens, to be filmed in Canada and Greece.
