The "Devra" Meaning:
Devra Labs all began with a simple street, Devra Dr. From the Fall of 2019 to the Fall of 2020, Devra Dr. was our home. However, pay close attention to that timeline, and you may notice that, for the back-half of our year at Devra, the pandemic had hit. As filmmakers at Florida State University, we were always creating and thinking about film. But with the pandemic, all of our many many shorts had to be filmed almost entirely on Devra Dr. since that formative experience, we've created Devra Labs, both in honor of our humble beginnings and as a sign of things to come. Having moved from Tallahassee to Cincinnati, we seek to create and introduce audiences to Cincinnati stories through film. Like the original Devra, we want to make as much as possible using everything we can, crafting detail and character over bombast and budget...
​
When doing a simple search online, there are seemingly no definitions for the word "Devra." For us then, Devra means scrappy ambition, a small wall of the most beautiful, engaging and original art you can find, shared willingly with the world instead of locked away in a vault.
​
​
Meet the Team
Starting in Fall of 2022, the Devra Labs team is run by our two co-owners, Bretton A. Miller & Pierce Ryan. We hope to add more to our growing team over the coming months.
Click on their image for more information.
Director
Bretton A. Miller
For reasons one cannot explain, a crazed sense of curiosity has struck and electrified Bretton A. Miller’s imagination his whole life. From once believing that airplanes in the night sky were flying time machines to becoming a young cryptid hunter searching for the Cincinnati Frogman, Bretton has always been trying to make sense of the world in the weirdest ways possible. When he was twelve, Bretton started creating his own mysteries through every form of filmmaking, from live-action shorts to documentaries, even venturing into animation. He has since graduated with a BFA in Film Production from FSU’s College of Motion Picture Arts, where he specialized in directing. Through his unique sensibilities and talents, he hopes to become a voice remembered long after his curiosity has moved on to other realms.
Director
Pierce Ryan
Born and raised along the panhandle of North Florida, Pierce first discovered his interest in storytelling on a scout campout, retelling old Orson Welles radio broadcasts around a fire.
A recent graduate of the Florida State College of Motion Picture Arts and co-founder of Devra Labs, he aims to continue his film education through independent film production in collaboration with artists he meets along the way.