Sean Devlin - Airports, Animals

Where many stand-up comedians write from distant observation, Sean Devlin’s material often comes from real-world interventions and politically-charged personal confrontations. Recorded at Vancouver’s Little Mountain Gallery Comedy Community Centre in 2019, AIRPORTS. ANIMALS. is the work of a comedian whose mother was raised as a squatter in the Philippines before immigrating to Canada to escape the Marcos regime. A comedian whose political provocations over climate change and migrant justice have previously landed him in jail. A biracial artist who experiences both white privilege and racial violence living in Vancouver, BC - the anti-Asian hate crime capital of North America. Yet, while political stand-up comedians typically express themselves through angry ranting, Devlin’s performances find him calmly recounting stories that would leave many people infuriated. From these intimate experiences Devlin produces a brand of grounded joy that is frequently absurdist, but never escapist. A timely balm for people seeking balance in the era of COVID-19 and glorified hatred.

Devlin has performed stand-up at festivals such as Bumbershoot, Just For Laughs NW, Sled Island, and Bridgetown Comedy Festival, sharing the stage with comedians Zach Galifianakis, Tig Notaro, Reggie Watts, Hari Kondabolu, Aamer Rahman as well as musical acts like MGMT and Of Montreal. Most recently, Devlin was a Consulting Producer on BORAT: SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM (2020). His directorial debut WHEN THE STORM FADES (2018) earned him the Emerging Canadian Director prize presented by The Director’s Guild of Canada at the 37th VIFF and won two international jury prizes for Best Director from festivals in Liverpool & Mumbai. Devlin has travelled the world working on multimedia projects for the likes of Greenpeace, Edward Snowden and The Yes Men.