A small-time thief assembles a crew of accomplices and devises an intricate heist that will cement his reputation as a criminal mastermind.

Creative team

Writers: Devin Knowles, Owen Roth
Director: Devin Knowles
Producers: Owen Roth, Evan Bellam
Executive producer: P.J. Lee
Starring: Owen Roth, Mena Massoud, Ayinde Blake, Stephanie McKenzie

Filmmakers’ statement

Masters in Crime is the dynamic result of a collaboration between Devin Knowles and Owen Roth. Our desire was to create an original, comedic and entertaining heist film that would reflect deeper themes prevalent in today’s world.

Like most millennials, the film’s protagonist Hank Franklin has difficulty focusing his attention on a specific goal and, for an aspiring criminal mastermind, this is a problem. Through the lens of crime, the film grapples with many of the generational issues of today’s world: establishing yourself, blind ambition, struggling with the pressure of expectations and the heightened competition among peers.

Heavily influenced by classic heist and caper films, the genre not only gave us a clear narrative structure but also provided creative guidance in the form of its tropes and clichés to either embrace or subvert. In most cases, our goal was to do both.

Complete with its own three-act structure, including a prologue and even a montage, Masters in Crime distinguishes itself as truly a short film with the heart of a feature. – Devin Knowles and Owen Roth

About Devin Knowles

Devin Knowles is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He was born and raised in Kingston, Ontario and attended several media arts intensive courses throughout secondary school before graduating from Queen’s University with a BA honours in film and media.

During his time at Queen’s, he met future collaborators Owen Roth, Evan Bellam and P.J. Lee. Prior to co-writing and directing Masters in Crime, Devin served as a contributing writer and creative consultant on Owen and Evan’s comedic series Cut to the Chase.

He is currently based in Toronto and is developing future projects with Owen Roth under the production banner Fountaine Pictures.

About Owen Roth

Owen Roth is a Toronto-born actor and filmmaker. He began his acting career as a lead on the YTV series System Crash, a youth comedy sketch show that ran for four seasons. Owen continued his professional career appearing in various film projects, MOWs and TV programs, including Billy Ray’s Shattered Glass, CTV/CBS’s Flashpoint and, most recently, Freeform/Netflix’s Shadowhunters.

In addition to acting, Owen graduated from the Queen’s University film program where he was also a teaching assistant.

Owen prides himself on being a fastidious filmmaker, writing, producing and editing independent projects he often stars in, such as the eight-episode comedic web series Cut to the Chase, as well as Masters in Crime.