Project 01Barto
In development · Period drama
An orphan in 1600s Rome survives by selling forged Caravaggios to tourists. The real talent in his fakes catches the eye of the master himself, and earns him a place in the workshop as his apprentice.
Stories that live beneath the picture.
A film studio for iconic characters and epic stories.
Every project begins with original hand-crafted artwork. Not prompts.
Beneath Pictures is an independent film studio founded by artist and collector Scott Devon. Drawing on original figurative artwork created by its founder, the studio develops films and series that explore beauty, truth, history, and the human condition through the lens of artificial intelligence and traditional storytelling.
01The Work
Three stories in production.
Project 02The Truth
In development · Crime series
Mateo Vale, a young Manhattan forensic psychiatrist, has a gift: in his interviews, people open up and surrender the truths they meant to keep buried, answers that only lead to more unsettling questions.
Project 03The House of Doves
In development · Period fable
An impoverished aristocratic widow spends the last of her fortune on the hungry, the abandoned, and the wounded, asking only that each one pass the kindness on. When creditors and violence close in on her crumbling English manor, the forgotten lives she quietly saved return, one by one, to protect her.
02The Characters
Iconic characters, brought to the screen.
The characters the films are built around.
Barto
The orphaned forger whose fake Caravaggios earn him a place beside the master. Period realism, warm and weathered.
Onorio Longhi
Caravaggio's closest ally in Rome — an architect who built churches by day and carried a sword by night. When the master's temper turns the streets to blood, Longhi is already there.
Mateo Vale
A young Manhattan forensic psychiatrist with a gift: in his interviews, people give up the truths they meant to keep buried. Watchful, haunted, and impossible to forget.
Mara Voss
Vale's gatekeeper and a former corrections investigator: she decides who gets through the door. She reads desperation off a performance, and trusts almost no one.
Each character begins with original art by founder Scott Devon.
03Watch
The first films, soon.
Barto and The Truth begin here, with series to follow.
04The Founder
Scott Devon
Scott Devon is the Founder and Creative Director of Beneath Pictures, an independent film studio dedicated to creating visually distinctive stories that explore truth, history, faith, psychology, and the complexities of the human experience.
A lifelong entrepreneur, collector, and artist, Devon brings an uncommon perspective to filmmaking. His work is informed by decades spent studying some of history's greatest painters while developing an original body of figurative artwork that serves as the creative foundation for many of the studio's films and series.
He is Chairman of the North Wales Foundation and Art Collection and the creator and host of Beneath the Varnish, a series in conversation with leading art historians. He blends traditional storytelling with new technologies, including artificial intelligence, to create original films and series that are visually memorable, emotionally resonant, and rooted in authentic human experience.
His work is guided by a simple belief: the most compelling stories reveal what lies beneath the surface.
Inquiries
For studios, press, and collaborators.
To bring Barto or The Truth to a wider audience, or to see what's next from the studio, reach out.