Watermelon Magic, All Grown Up

A film’s creation and release can be compared to a gestation and birth—but what happens when it “grows up”? More than a decade after completing my short film Watermelon Magic, it continues to have an impact in theaters around the world.

Like the fruit, Watermelon Magic grew from humble beginnings. After making Fridays at the Farm at the community supported farm started by family friends Chris McNichol and Amy Johnson, I felt inspired to make another film about the magic of growing plants, this time for a younger audience. The film stars my then-six-year-old daughter Sylvie, whose spunky personality perfectly fit my vision for the protagonist. My wife and sons played Sylvie’s mom and brothers, and since I was busy behind the camera, Chris stepped in to portray Sylvie’s film-dad.

Just as it “takes a village” to raise a child, this film wouldn’t have been possible without the work of nearly 100 actors and crew, and the support of more than 240 Kickstarter backers. Among the collaborators was Peter Tramo, who has scored numerous other projects for me, including Dollars That Make Sense. And since I was already juggling writing, producing, and directing, I turned to filmmaker Tim Shepherd (of BBC’s Planet Earth series) for most of the timelapse portions. Despite being an ocean away in England, Tim built a perfect replica of Sylvie’s garden in his studio—including successfully growing watermelons indoors—and followed my storyboards to a T!

  • Chase Bowman, director of photography, and I shared a laugh (and some fresh watermelon) while mapping out a shot.

    Chase Bowman, director of photography, and I shared a laugh (and some fresh watermelon) while mapping out a shot.

  • Some of the storyboards that I sent to Tim Shepherd in England

    Some of the storyboards that I sent to Tim Shepherd in England

  • Where he built a replica of Sylvie’s garden—including growing his own watermelons—to create the timelapse footage

    Where he built a replica of Sylvie’s garden—including growing his own watermelons—to create the timelapse footage

  • Timelapse images are captured one frame at a time

    Timelapse images are captured one frame at a time

  • One of Tim's gorgeous shots

    One of Tim's gorgeous shots

  • Brian Eimer from Images in Sound in Toronto works on the IMAX mix

    Brian Eimer from Images in Sound in Toronto works on the IMAX mix

Following its release, Watermelon Magic was shown in dozens of IMAX theaters in museums and science centers around the world, including a stint at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, and has been dubbed in Spanish and French.

  • WM-Cast-at-premiere.jpg
  • Sylvie at Whitaker Science Center copy 2.jpeg
  • Building Watermelon magic copy.jpeg

And the film isn’t the only one who’s grown up. Sylvie and her brothers are now young adults, but we are all still quite proud that our “family film” has been seen by audiences as far away as Kuwait and Taiwan.

Watermelon Magic can be seen at the Canadian Museum of History until later this summer.

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Our family at Sylvie's high school graduation last spring

“The still-frame photography gives the movie an animated feel, the people caught in comic, staccato movement. But the timelapse sequences capture the life cycle of a plant with wondrous, eye-popping scrutiny. Charming!” —Steven Rea, film critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer

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