Grow, a new feature film produced by Joe Capotorto '18 and co-produced by Fernando Morrett Garza '25, was released in theaters across the United States on October 3, 2025.
The film takes place in the pumpkin capital of the world, which holds a highly competitive pumpkin growing competition each year. Grow follows “tough-as-pumpkin” farmer Dinah Little, who takes in her abandoned niece, Charlie—a girl with a special connection to plants. The two enter the competition and, while tending to their growing pumpkin, grow ever closer themselves.
Grow saw its world premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival in August of this year. In September it also screened at the Calgary International Film Festival.
Capotorto is a writer-producer with a strong passion for edgy and thought-provoking storytelling. He produced the films Nowhere to Nun, The Burial, and Nice Talking to You. Capotorto has worked throughout the entertainment industry, from production companies to theatre groups to film festivals. He has an MFA in Film with a concentration in Creative Producing from Columbia University School of the Arts and a BA in Film and Theatre from Vassar College, where he graduated cum laude.
Morett Garza is a Mexican producer, writer, and director. His previous producing credits include Somewhere All The Boys Are Birds, which premiered at NewFest in New York City during the Fall of 2023, and 52 Minutos, a Mexican short film. Fernando was one of 50 students admitted to the 2023 Telluride Film Festival Student Symposium. Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Fernando spent five years at J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s Real Estate Investment Group, where he worked on transaction closings totaling $1 billion.
