The Fruit Hunters
The Fruit Hunters is a 2012 feature documentary film about exotic fruit cultivators and preservationists. It is directed by Yung Chang and co-written by Chang and Mark Slutsky, and inspired by Adam Leith Gollner’s 2008 book of the same name.[1][2]
In addition to documentary sequences, the film also uses CGI animation, models and performers to stage real and imagined moments in the history of fruit.[3]
Film subjects
Subjects in the film include actor Bill Pullman, who was not featured in Gollner's book. The filmmakers became aware of his interest in fruit thanks to a 2009 New York Times profile. The film follows Pullman's efforts to develop a communal orchard near his Hollywood Hills residence.[1]
Two staff members of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden are shown exploring jungles in Asia and South America in search of plants to graft and preserve.[2]
The Fruit Hunters also features a Honduran scientist trying to find an alternative to the Cavendish banana, an Italian cultivator who studies Renaissance paintings to identify new varieties, and an indigenous guide in Borneo.[1]
Development and production
The idea for The Fruit Hunters was first pitched at a forum at Hot Docs, utilizing footage with Bill Pullman. The National Film Board of Canada and EyeSteelFilm agreed to co-produce the film, which also has funding from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Telefilm Canada and SODEC.[1]
Chang, Slutsky and Gollner were friends before working on the film, having once lived in the same building in Montreal.[4]
References
- Barna, Daniel (30 November 2012). "The Canadian climate: bad for fruit, good for documentaries". Maclean's. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- Burgess, Steve (7 December 2012). "'The Fruit Hunters'". The Tyee. Vancouver. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- Eisner, Ken (6 December 2012). "The Fruit Hunters makes a juicy case against monoculture". Georgia Straight. Vancouver. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- "The Fruit Hunters at the Bloor". Point of View. Documentary Organization of Canada. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.