ABOUT
In a violent, dystopian future, a single mother attempts to grow a dragon fruit sprout in hopes of one day selling it for cash.
DRAGON FRUIT stars Yvonne Chapman as The Mother, a lone woman forced to make ends meet while caring for her son in an cruel, barbaric world. Told largely without dialogue, the film follows her as she struggles to grow a small plant sprout into a fully-ripened dragon fruit. If she can sell it for enough money, and if she can survive, she might be able to afford a better life for her and her son...but at this point, she’d settle for a day off.
Inspired by a combo of North America’s record-breaking wildfire seasons and our divisive political climate, DRAGON FRUIT is set in a hellish, smog-filled world where the atmosphere is toxic to breathe, and the gap between rich and poor has never been worse. Drinking water is scarce, militarized police roam the streets terrorizing everyone, and greed is the driving force behind every move.
Produced through the crucible of the pandemic, writer-director J.Brown designed and created nearly all the props, costumes, set pieces, and visual effects in his apartment on his own. With a boost from creative powerhouse Crystal Mountain Films, J.Brown and his company Rattlesnake Films were able to stretch a shoestring budget into an epic short film, creating a uniquely unforgiving portrait of our hyper-polarized world.
CAST
Yvonne Chapman anchors the cast of DRAGON FRUIT as The Mother. Relentless, stubborn, and resourceful, she never, ever gives up. The Calgary-born actor, who is also a producer on the film, is known for her roles as the nefarious Zhilan in the CW's reboot of Kung Fu, as well as lawyer Mina Lee in CBC's reboot of the legendary series Street Legal. Yvonne can currently be seen as Avatar Kyoshi in Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Vancouver's Azriel Dalman provides the tender heart of DRAGON FRUIT as the lonely, inquisitive Son. Only ten years old, Azriel already sports an impressive resume with dozens of roles, including hits like FX’s Shogun, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+. Azi plans to “be an actor forever, and work at Subway when I’m not on a project.”
Vancouver native Nicole Muñoz joins the cast of DRAGON FRUIT as the fun, but mysterious Neighbor. An actor since the age of four, Nicole is best known for her roles as Jack in Syfy’s Van Helsing and as Ellery in CBC’s Diggstown.
Montreal-born Omari Newton brings the long arm of the law to the world of DRAGON FRUIT as the enigmatic Cop. An accomplished voice actor, playwright, and director, Omari is known for his roles as Larry on Blue Mountain State and Lucas on Showcase’s Continuum.
DRAGON FRUIT’S villainous Boss is played by BC’s Chris Gauthier. Chris has been in everything from Zack Snyder’s Watchmen to ABC’s Once Upon A Time. J.Brown met Chris twenty years ago at a karaoke night neither of them can remember. Reconnecting a decade later, they were excited to finally work together, with the role of the Boss written specifically for Chris—a first of many future collaborations.
Sadly, in February 2024, at the age of 48, Chris passed away. He is survived by his wife Erin, and two sons, Ben and Seb.
He is greatly missed by all of us.
Chris Gauthier
1976-2024
DIRECTOR
J.Brown is a director, producer, and animator based out of Vancouver, BC. He has nearly 20 years of experience working in television, feature film, and video games, on titles like Stranger Things, The Mandalorian, and The Avengers. He created all costumes, props, and visual effects for DRAGON FRUIT in his apartment on his own, which saved him a lot of money, and gave him something to do on evenings and weekends during the pandemic. This led to him building two sets, acting as locations manager, and playing the role of Mr. Mystery Meats, because after all this work, there’s no way he wasn’t gonna be in this thing. Identifying marks include a rattlesnake tattoo on his arm and a beard on his face. So far, he is bald.
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
"Dragon Fruit started with the simple premise of having an idea
and seeing it through, no matter the cost. But along the way, it
became something more: an epic poem about modern life.
This film is about how it felt to make it."
CREW
Director of Photography Henry Hayhurst-France first met with director J.Brown in a Vancouver coffee shop in June of 2020. Newly arrived from the UK, Henry was not only unphased by making a film of this scale during a pandemic, he had his own camera, which was good news for the budget. Filming on a Blackmagic Pocket adapted with vintage lenses, Henry brought J.Brown's storyboards to brilliant life, color graded every shot himself, and was so instrumental throughout production that he earned himself a battlefield promotion to producer.
Music Composer Shawn Penner was six years old when he met director J.Brown in a tree at a church picnic. J.Brown was four, and credits his love of violent movies to Shawn’s terrible influence growing up. Having previously collaborated with J.Brown on multiple small videos and fan films, Shawn was keen to tackle a film where the music was so instrumental to the story. In a twenty-seven minute film with almost no dialogue, what he achieved is truly remarkable, and worth the price of admission alone.
Producer Jen Araki and director J.Brown grew up together, attending the same elementary school in West Kelowna, BC. After a successful modeling career, Jen moved from LA to Vancouver, and immediately began making plans to make movies. Already an actor, director, and producer under her Crystal Mountain Films banner, she was able to draw on her vast network to get DRAGON FRUIT off the ground.
Executive producer and Crystal Mountain Films co-founder Dylan Playfair is most recognizable as Reilly on Crave/Hulu's hit series Letterkenny. The hockey player turned award-winning actor has built a diverse resume that also includes directing, producing, and executive producing. In DRAGON FRUIT, Dylan found a rich, thrilling drama that is both personal and universal, contained in a package that could only come from the unique mind of director J.Brown.
Dan Mangan is a two-time JUNO Award-winning and two-time Polaris Music Prize-nominated musician and songwriter. Based in Vancouver, BC, Dan has toured extensively in North America and Europe, with stops at Glastonbury and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Dan agreed to bless DRAGON FRUIT with a cover of a classic Bob Dylan song to close out the film. Pulling together a group of local musicians for one day only, they recorded it live off the floor in one take. What song? Head over to his website to find out.
And hey, buy an album while you're at it.
Creative Producer Jess Rivers is J.Brown’s best friend and was the very first producer attached to DRAGON FRUIT in 2019. The first pitch for the film failed, so she promptly left Vancouver to open a bakery in beautiful Victoria, BC.
Located in the heart of Victoria’s Rock Bay, Working Culture Bread is open Thursday to Sunday and bakes organic sourdough bread from scratch. They also have really good coffee, sandwiches and pastries, and sometimes they even have pizza nights! I, for one, love their cinnamon buns.
FESTIVAL AWARDS
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
PRESS
INTERVIEW - Pop Culturalist - Video, with Director J.Brown and Lead Actress Yvonne Chapman
INTERVIEW - Digital Journal - Print, with Director J.Brown
REVIEW - Short Films Matter - "A gripping journey of survival in a dystopian world"
REVIEW - Indie Shorts Mag Team - "Astute Sci-fi That Shows the Tiredness of It All"
INTERVIEW - Cinemorata - Print, with Director J.Brown
INTERVIEW - Kelowna10 - Video, with Director J.Brown
INTERVIEW - Vernon Matters - Print, with Director J.Brown
