THE FILM

Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds is a feature documentary by filmmaker M. Sean Kaminsky exploring the extraordinary world of seeds and the people working to protect them.

ABOUT THE FILM

For thousands of years, farmers saved, exchanged and adapted seeds from one generation to the next. In little more than a century, that ancient relationship has been transformed.

Agricultural biodiversity has dramatically declined, seeds have increasingly become patented property, and control over the global seed supply has become concentrated in fewer hands.

Open Sesame travels across North America and beyond to meet the farmers, gardeners, scientists, activists and seed keepers working to preserve this living inheritance.

FEATURING

Vandana Shiva · Percy Schmeiser · Diane Ott Whealy · Gary Paul Nabhan · Charles Eisenstein · Ira Wallace · Frank Morton · Ken Greene · Bill McDorman · Jim Gerritsen · Jeffrey Smith

…and many others.

It is about biodiversity, independence, culture, resilience and the extraordinary relationship between human beings and one of nature’s smallest miracles.

RELEASE & SCREENINGS

Its life has continued well beyond its original release.

Open Sesame launched on Earth Day 2014 with theatrical screenings in New York City and Washington, D.C., followed by filmmaker Q&As, panel discussions and seed swaps.

A theatrical campaign with Gathr Films brought the film to cinemas and community venues nationwide. More than 25 screenings took place within months of the premiere, at independent houses including the historic Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, The Loft Cinema in Tucson and the Rosendale Theatre in New York’s Hudson Valley.

A Canadian premiere at Manitoba's Gimli Film Festival, and international screenings including a European premiere in Florence, Italy.

The film reached television audiences through broadcasts on PBS member stations and public television.

Released on Food Matters TV (FMTV), the international subscription network devoted to health, wellness and transformational films.

Universities, libraries, food co-ops, seed organizations, farms and community groups continue to screen the film, with a special educational edition for schools and libraries and subtitled versions in Spanish, French, Japanese and Italian.

PRAISE

Video Librarian

Wayne Roberts
Former Manager, Toronto Food Policy Council

THE FILM AT A GLANCE

Feature documentary · 82 minutes

M. Sean Kaminsky

Earth Day 2014

Screenings across the United States

Broadcast on PBS member stations and public television

Released on Food Matters TV

Film festival and international screenings

Special edition for schools and libraries

English, with Spanish, French, Japanese and Italian subtitled versions

THE TEAM

Composer

Composer for film, television and advertising, specializing in modern orchestral music.

Animator

Animator, director and puppet-maker; BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Seed Ball Animation

NYC motion graphics designer whose work has appeared in The New York Times and the United Nations.

Assistant Editor

Worked on the Oscar-nominated How to Survive a Plague and SXSW-selected Maidentrip.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER

M. Sean Kaminsky is an award-winning Canadian filmmaker, writer and producer based in New York. His documentary work has appeared on HBO, PBS and Sundance Channel.

With Open Sesame, Kaminsky turned his attention to something both elemental and largely invisible: the seed.

What began as a story about agriculture became something larger: a film about memory, inheritance, biodiversity, freedom and the people working to protect a resource on which virtually all of us depend.

日本語