Please contact us
with corrections
or breaking news
Overlooked & Underrated Docs & Features
(click on broll or dschwartz for all his posts)
Seed: The Untold Story When Jon Betz and Taggart Siegel make a film, it is a must-see. They’ve given us “The Real Dirt on Farmer John” and “Queen of the Sun”—strong, hard-hitting films about agriculture.
The unhappy yet predictable aspect is the extent to which we have lost seeds. 94% of seed varieties disappeared in the 20th century. The film also covers the tragically successful attempt of corporations to take over life, to release a world-wide Frankenstein experiment via the dissemination and control of genetically modified seeds. The monster has been attacking us and our world in one way or another since its creation.
Most of the film, however, is of the inspiring kind. Taggart and Betz profile several seed heroes fighting to save the non-GMO seeds we still have; fighting, too, against the Frankenfoods experiment. Another source of inspiration is the raw beauty of seeds—abstract art at its finest.
Like so many films I’ve seen, this is exemplary issue-based documentary filmmaking.