Award-winning documentary kicks off “DOCtoberfest” at Mary D. Fisher Theatre
Sedona AZ (September 25, 2016) – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present a one-night only special premiere of the award-winning documentary “Seed: The Untold Story” on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 4 and 7 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, followed by a community discussion and Q&A.
The film premiere officially kicks off the festival’s new “DOCtoberfest” series, which will feature a selection of award-winning documentaries premiering during October and early November.
Belle Starr and Bill McDorman from the Rock Mountain Seed Alliance will lead a discussion and Q&A session after both screenings of “Seed: The Untold Story”.
As many irreplaceable seeds near extinction, “Seed: The Untold Story” reveals the harrowing and heartening story of passionate seed keepers as they wage a David and Goliath battle against chemical seed companies, defending a 12,000 year food legacy. In a harrowing and heartening story, these reluctant heroes rekindle a lost connection to our most treasured resource and revive a culture connected to seeds. The film features Vandana Shiva, Dr. Jane Goodall, Andrew Kimbrell, Winona Laduke and Raj Patel.
Few things on Earth are as miraculous and vital as seeds. Worshipped and treasured since the dawn of humankind, these subtle flecks of life are the source of all existence. Like tiny time capsules, they contain the songs, sustenance, memories, and medicines of entire cultures. They feed us, clothe us, and provide the raw materials for our everyday lives. In a very real sense, they are life itself.
Yet in our modern world, these precious gifts of nature are in grave danger. In less than a century of industrial agriculture, our once abundant seed diversity — painstakingly created by ancient farmers and gardeners over countless millennia — has been drastically winnowed down to a handful of mass-produced varieties. Under the spell of industrial “progress” and a lust for profit, our quaint family farmsteads have given way to mechanized agribusinesses sowing genetically identical crops on a monstrous scale. Recent news headlines suggest that Irish history may already be repeating in our globalized food system. Articles in the New York Times and other mainstream sources report the impending collapse of the world’s supplies of bananas, oranges, coffee and coconuts — all due to a shortsighted over-reliance on a single, fragile variety. Without seed diversity, crop diseases rise and empires fall.
More than a cautionary tale of “man against nature,” the remarkable story of seeds is an epic “good-versus-evil” saga playing out in our modern lives.
People everywhere are waking up to the vital importance of seeds for our future. In recent months, March Against Monsanto protests have rallied millions in more than 400 cities and 50 countries to the cause of seed freedom. Ballot initiatives to label genetically modified foods have been proposed in U.S. cities from California to Connecticut — a direct threat to the profits of the Gene Giants and their Big Food cronies. Seed libraries, community gardens, and a new generation of passionate young farmers are cropping up to shift the balance toward a more sustainable and sovereign seed paradigm. A David and Goliath battle is underway, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
“Seed: The Untold Story” will show at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 4 and 7 p.m. Both screenings will be followed by a community discussion and Q&A session led by Bill McDorman and Belle Starr from the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance.
Tickets are $12, or $9 for Film Festival members. For tickets and more information, please call 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.