Seeds Review (2024 Toronto Film Festival)
Entertaining directorial feature debut from the Canadian actress
Seeds, written, directed, and starring Kaniehtiio Horn in her feature directorial debut, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). For a first feature, I imagine this would be daunting. TIFF is one of the biggest film festivals in the world, with so many high-profile world premieres that smaller films can sometimes get lost in the shuffle. However, Seeds deserves not to be overlooked—it’s an impressive debut.
The film follows Ziggy (Kaniehtiio Horn), a bike courier and influencer who recently secured a sponsorship with a seed company called Nature’s Oath. In exchange for cool swag and money, she must create videos for her platforms. This plan hits a snag when her cousin (Dallas Goldtooth) asks her to house-sit at their aunt’s house. Once she arrives at the reservation, two things quickly become apparent: the internet is terrible, and Nature’s Oath may not be as well-intentioned as it seems. Things go from bad, due to the poor internet, to worse when a shady figure appears at the aunt’s house.
Early on, Ziggy makes a TikTok/Insta reel where she explains aspects of Native culture. A key piece of setup is introduced: she explains that if you wake up with black ash on your face, it means you are essentially dead. This “planting of the seed,” so to speak, pays off in a huge way during the climax, which is both genuinely shocking and enthralling. Seeds is wildly entertaining, with a great cast and moments of comedy that effectively balance the more serious elements.
One of the central themes in Seeds is the corporatization of farming and how it is structured to benefit the companies rather than the farmers. In the film, Nature’s Oath serves as the villainous organization lurking in the background, developing ways to ensure that farmers are forced to keep buying their seeds, preventing them from reproducing food naturally.
Since Ziggy’s family are farmers, it becomes personal when a company threatens their livelihood. Flashbacks show the importance of certain seeds to Indigenous culture, highlighting the circle of life: we eat the food, plant the seeds, and the food grows. This cycle is threatened when a shadowy figure attempts to steal seeds from the aunt’s basement, creating tension.
The theme of stealing from a culture—and, in turn, not embracing one’s own culture—is explored through Ziggy’s character and legendary actor Graham Greene, who plays himself in Ziggy’s dreams. More specifically, he appears as a version of himself as the host of Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science. Seeds draws a parallel between the theft of seeds and cultural appropriation, making a poignant statement on the subject, which has been a major topic in recent years. It’s refreshing to see a film address this issue in such a thoughtful way. Seeds also tackles the suppression of culture, as seen through Graham Greene’s character, whose culture seems absent from his life. Scenes where Greene urges Ziggy to embrace her heritage are genuinely moving.
Seeds does show some signs of being a first feature, as some of the shot choices feel a bit bland. However, its story is amazing and captivates you from the very beginning. I believe that, with time, Kaniehtiio Horn will continue to create films that are both enticing and entertaining. As she gains confidence, her skills will only improve, and this is a strong first step. Impactful and wild, Seeds is a blast.
★★★1/2
Reviewed at the Toronto Film Festival 2024 / Kaniehtiio Horn, Dallas Goldtooth, Meegwun Fairbrother, Dylan Cook, Graham Greene / Dir: Kaniehtiio Horn
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