Navin Dev, a talented individual, trained at the renowned Drama Centre London, a prestigious institution that has produced notable alumni such as Colin Firth, Michael Fassbender, and Tom Hardy.
Upon completing his studies, Dev applied his acquired Method acting skills to directing for the theatre, premiering his first written play, "Intense Isolation," in 2005. He then shifted his focus to film, penning, producing, and directing his inaugural short film, "The Falling," in 2006. This film was subsequently showcased at the 2006 Sutton Film Festival and on the UK's Propeller TV.
Following the success of "The Falling," Dev established himself as a specialist in the fantasy horror genre, with his gothic and psychological horror style proving to be a perfect fit. In 2007, he wrote, produced, and directed the short film "Red Hood," a retelling of the Brothers Grimm classic fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood." This film won the Best Foreign Film Award at the 2008 Washougal International Film Festival in the United States and was screened at various international film festivals, including the BAFTA qualifying London Short Film Festival, the Branchage Jersey International Film Festival, the Florence International Film Festival, and the Amberg Horror Fest.
Dev created another fairy tale-themed short film, "The Tree Man," inspired by Carlo Collodi's novel "The Adventures of Pinocchio." "The Tree Man" won the Best Short Film Jury Prize award at the 2011 Time Out Critics Choice Puppets on Film Festival, judged by a panel that included renowned filmmaker Roman Paska. This film was showcased at several international film festivals, including the Festival International des Arts de la Marionnette in Quebec.
Dev self-funded the production of his first feature-length film, "Red Kingdom Rising," on a budget below £100,000 and shot the film on Super 16mm format, similar to his previous works, to emphasize the organic visual quality of the fairy tale horror themes. "Red Kingdom Rising" received extensive positive reviews, with acclaimed horror critic and Empire magazine columnist Kim Newman describing the film as "A nicely dense, imagistic feel and a grasp of the nightmarish....study of a cracked psyche, using the tropes of scary children's stories."
"Red Kingdom Rising" screened at the Gotham Screen International Film Festival in New York and was nominated for Best Horror Film at the Portobello Film Festival in the United Kingdom. The film was released through 1406 Pictures on Amazon DVD and VOD.
