*“I believe what’s meant for you is for you,” said film writer/producer/director Beverly “BJ” Rouse’s as we talked about the meaning behind her new film project, First Fruit, starring MTV Video Award-winning Darrin Dewitt Henson (NSYNC, Blackstreet/The Family Business, Soul Food) and Vijay Beasley. “We take things for granted…like someone listening to you. Darrin and Vijay tapped into that.”
First Fruit tells the story of dealing with grief. It has one neighbor comforting another after a close death. Reminding that neighbor that life goes on and how there will too.
“The only instruction I gave the crew was that they did not rehearse together,” BJ pointed out when I talk about her having such a legendary dancer/choreographer and actor like Henson in her film. “I did not want them to be comfortable with each other.”
Vijay plays the neighbor suffering from a loss, and Brooklyn native Darrin plays the neighbor who helps her “live” again by healthily dealing with her grief.
“They are both dancers. This is Jay’s first film,” Rouse pointed out. “They had to trust each other. We don’t have a lot of dialogue.”
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The cinematographers of First Fruit are Paul Morals and Mike Viney. Catherine Joy and Kevin Leusath, II handled the editing and the score.
“I was particular about the musical score,” BJ pointed out. “I wanted viewers to feel how they felt.”
Beverly Rouse is a very experienced filmmaker. She has already garnered 12 awards for her projects. BJ has received the Panavision New Film Grant and the Kodak New Film Grant to support her projects. Rouse said the First Fruit short film is inspired by a true story. It explains how we all one day must face death and how we can deal with that overbearing emotional journey.
First Fruit was recently screened at the LA Shorts International Film Festival in North Hollywood, California, and it will be screened again at the Black International Film Festival October 8 -12, 2026 in San Jose, California.
When I asked BJ what the most challenging thing was about making the First Fruit film, she said, “The most challenging thing was getting the crew on board with a live insect on set. The challenge was finding a grasshopper.”
Beverly said someone on the crew said what about a cricket and she said no crickets!
“We didn’t get the grasshopper,” she continued as I was laughing uncontrollably. “But we had the bug whisperer, and he said, ‘How about a praying-mantis instead?’ Then he talked to me about the praying-mantis. It was a pet that got out…and it was a loss to the person who owned the insect.”
She continued, “The crew said, ‘That’s worse than having a child on set!’”
“We had the humane society looking at us,” she said as I am still laughing. “I even named her! She was waving and everything!!”
I am still laughing hard as we end the interview, “The bug shows up a lot! It’s making that connection about life…” https://www.filmindependent.org/sponsored-projects/first-fruit/
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Dr. Eunice Moseley has an estimated weekly readership of over one million for her column The Pulse of Entertainment. She is the publisher of the digital magazine www.ThePulseofEntertainment.com, which has an estimated 160,000 visitors a month. An entrepreneur, Dr. Moseley’s company, Freelance Associates, is a business management/public relations strategic planning and consulting firm that is celebrating 32 years in 2025. Dr. Eunice also serves as professor for the School of Business at Stanton University in Anaheim, California and serves as promotions director (at-large), journalist and business consultant for The Baltimore Times. Dr. Moseley founded the Uplifting Minds II Foundation (www.UpliftingMinds.com) in 2023, a 501 C3 with a mission to empower the underserved through three major programs – One Stop Business Shop, the ULMII Professional Conference and the ULMII Academy (business management and public relations).EVENTS: “Uplifting Minds II” Entertainment Conference (ULMII), was launched by Dr. Eunice in 1999, to educate aspiring artists/musicians about the business of entertainment – www.UpliftingMinds2.com. Next ULMII Entertainment Conferences for Baltimore on Saturday April 18, 2026, presented by Security Square Mall and The Baltimore Times, and for Los Angeles on Saturday, November 7, 2026, presented by The Pulse of Entertainment and the ULMII Foundation. The ULMII conferences are free with virtual access via Zoom. ULMII entertainment conference offers a Professional Panel Q&A Session, a Professional Talent Showcase and International Talent Competition where the top three scored acts receive the ULMII Best Act Award and over $20,000 valued in prizes/product/services and cash!
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