Life & Work with Cheyann Dillon of Burbank

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheyann Dillon.

Hi Cheyann, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Like a lot of people, I began acting in school plays in my teeny tiny town. When I started applying for colleges I decided to audition for the acting conservatory, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts because why not? To mine and everyone’s surprise, I was accepted. I moved to LA in 2012 and never left. I’ve been acting professionally ever since. In 2023 my boyfriend, Kenneth Beckerdite, and I decided to start making our own movies. Our first shoot together was a comedy special, and have been slowly working our way up to bigger and bigger projects. We are currently producing our third short film (shooting in June) with the help of Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
That question makes me laugh. I would love to meet the people who’ve had an easy ride and get their secrets! I mean, I grew up so far away from Hollywood, it might as well had been the Moon. Everything I have learned about this business has been through mistakes, accidents, gumption, and dumb luck. I came to LA right when Netflix released Orange is the New Black and the entire industry pipeline changed overnight. Suddenly, these smaller jobs were insulated and few and far between. So many of us turned to online platforms like Youtube. But online videos required infrastructure, production knowledge, and financial investment that I just didn’t have. It took nearly five years to build that out for myself and find my people.

Once I found that community, things started moving and grooving. Me and my friends started an online sketch channel with great production value, we started writing independent plays and showing them to sold out audiences, we were in pre-production on our first short film as a collective, and I finally signed with an acting manager! All the pieces were finally coming together. And then Covid hit. Then the writer’s strike. The SAG strike. And for years everything seemed to halt. So many of my friends and peers decided to quit. But through all of this, I’ve gotten to learn and do things that were never on my radar. I always imagined acting in movies, but I never thought I would be actually making them.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I always say I’m an acting major with a producing minor. Over the past decade I’ve had the pleasure of working on commercials for brands like Burger King, Amazon Prime Video, and Resy. I’m proud to say that I’ve been developing my own voice the independent film space, and have gotten work with so many incredible directors and filmmakers. But what I’m most proud of are the films that Kenneth and I have been able to do under the name Dutra Pictures. Getting to creatively develop and lead my own films makes me feel like a Margot Robbie knock-off in the best way. Our first short film recently played at the Chinese Theater for the Beverly Hills Film Festival, and was featured on Film Shortage in April. Our most recently completed film is currently on the festival circuit, and we’ll be shooting our third narrative film in June!

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Absolutely! I’m so grateful for creators like Audrey Moore of Audrey Helps Actors, Sam Valentine and Gabrielle Byndloss of One Broke Actress/ Working Actor Life, and Ajarae Coleman of Powerhouse. These ladies actually talked about the business and have completely opened to my eyes to how to work in this industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cheyanndillon.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheyannndillon?utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dutrapictures?app=desktop

Image Credits
Meredith Carlson, Bahareh Ritter