Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/709470
I t's easy to speculate as to what has caused the degradation of civilization, but after watching Seed, the Untold Story, I feel certain it's related to greed and the corporatization of agricul- ture. Well-fed people are happy people, and since business has taken control of agriculture, too many cultures around the world have lost the ability to truly feed themselves. Seed painstakingly but entertainingly takes us through the history of seeds, showing us their beauty in myriad shapes and colors. You owe it to yourself to see this fi lm so that, if nothing else, you can appreciate the gorgeous diversity. We tend to take seeds for granted, mostly buying them in a sealed plastic snack bag. Nurseries sell seeds, but most urban gardeners are more likely to plant nursery starts, so the world of seed remains a mystery and we stick to, at most, 120 varieties, even though there are still 30,000 species of edible plants on the planet. In the last century, 94 percent of our seed varieties have dis- appeared, as in, likely gone extinct. It is primarily thanks to a handful of passionate seed keepers protecting our 12,000 year- old food legacy that we have even 6 percent remaining, and the fi lm introduces us to a number of those dedicated individuals. As Will Bonsall of the Scatter- seed Project explains, "Genetic diversity is the hedge between us and global famine." Bonsall sees himself as the plant ver- sion of Noah, preserving thou- sands of varieties in his "ark." Our preserved seeds are vul- nerable, the fi lm explains, not just to greedy corporations and hostile forces (such as the U.S., which destroyed the Iraqi seedbank), but also increasing natural disasters, such as the storm that wiped out a seedbank in 2006. Large corporations have bought an estimated 20,000 seed companies. Their incursions against farmers are well known and struggling farmers get into terrible binds with hybrid and GMO seeds that cannot be reused, as had been done for centuries. You really must see this moving and informative fi lm, at times quite shocking, because there are far too many details to re- count here. You will never think of your food in the same way again. (Collective Eye Films) —AL Directed by Taggart Siegel & Jon Betz Seed - The Untold Story FILM Directed by Philippe Faucon W hen news is reported about Muslim emigrants, usually it's in the context of refugees or terrorists. We see very little about the challenges Muslim em- igrants face in their adopted countries. Fatima (played by Soria Zeroual) is a divorced Muslim from Algeria living in France and raising her two daughters. Her ex-husband also lives in France, but seems to be fi nancially more stable, which is often the case in any divorce, anywhere. He drives a car and is remarried. Nesrine (Zita Hanrot), the eldest daughter, is just starting her fi rst year of university at enormous cost to her mother, includ- ing pawning her jewelry (it's unclear if the father contributes). In addition to the fi nancial burden, Fatima cooks for Nesrine and brings the prepared meals to her apartment each week, and also does her laundry. Souad (Kenza-Noah Aïche) still lives at home and at 15 is in the height of rebellion. She's incensed at her mother's long working hours as a cleaning woman, and her inability to com- municate in French despite having lived in France since age 20. Fatima seems to have no friends or life beyond her work and her kids. She is rebuffed when she makes a friendly overture to the mother of one of Souad's friends. Fatima is a disconcerting glimpse into the daunting challeng- es of all of their lives, but particularly the mother's. She faces discrimination for wearing a headscarf, is studying French but hasn't mastered it, works exhausting hours at menial jobs, and as if all this weren't enough, suffers a physical injury. This is not a happy fi lm, but it's a hopeful one, primarily due to one small success. But it's a revealing window into the strug- gle of an emigre feeling alienated and isolated in her adopted country. It was all very romantic for the beautiful young heroine of Brooklyn, but the reality for those emigrating from the Middle East can be considerably more challenging. (Kino Lorber) —Abigail Lewis Fatima FILM art & soul august/september 2016 35