A DOCUMENTARY BY SEAN KAMINSKY
Open Sesame
The Story of Seeds
One of the world’s most precious resources is at risk. Featuring Vandana Shiva and some of the greatest seed keepers of our time, working to protect the source of nearly all our food.
WATCH THE TRAILER
Two minutes with the seed keepers.
Meet Vandana Shiva, Percy Schmeiser, Diane Ott Whealy and the farmers, gardeners and seed savers at the heart of the film.
~90%
of the fruit and vegetable varieties that existed 100 years ago no longer exist today.
SOURCE: FAO
82%
of the world-wide seed market is now corporate-owned. Heritage grain is near extinction.
FROM THE FILM
10,000
years of seed-saving knowledge. “This is knowledge that has been on the planet for ten thousand years, and we can relearn it again.”
NANCY REDFEATHER, KONA, HAWAI‘I
ABOUT THE FILM
Seeds are as essential to life as air and water — but given far less attention.
This timely and emotionally moving documentary illuminates what is at stake and what can be done to protect the source of nearly all our food. Seeds provide the basis for everything from fabric, to food, to fuels.
Heirloom seeds that were lovingly nurtured over decades — even hundreds of years — have been lost forever. Maintaining seed biodiversity lets us breed new open-pollinated varieties that resist pests and thrive in temperature extremes. That diversity is essential in a changing climate.
Homeowners fear GMO contamination from nearby fields.
WAYS TO WATCH
Plant this film in your home, school or community.
PACKET NO. 01 STREAM
Watch at home
Stream or download instantly. Deluxe adds an extended Vandana Shiva interview.
PACKET NO. 02 COMMUNITY
Host a screening
Bring Open Sesame to your town. Every license includes posters, images and talking points.
PACKET NO. 03 CLASSROOM
Educational & library
Special editions for schools and libraries, including a 56-minute classroom cut.
“It unlocks the door to the magical, powerful, and perilous world of seeds. It will open hearts and minds.”
Claire Hope Cummings, author of Uncertain Peril
FROM THE SEED JOURNAL
Interviews, field notes and seed news.
Twenty-seven posts from the making of the film: interviews with seed keepers, field notes and news from the seed movement.
Bija Devi · Navdanya Biodiversity Farm, India
SUPPORT THE FILM
Help us plant the idea in more communities.
Open Sesame has been a labor of love since the fall of 2009. Your contribution helps us educate as many people as possible about the critical importance of seeds. Our food supply depends upon it.