

Saturday, February 28th
2:15 PM
US NAVAL HERITAGE CENTER
$12 IN ADVANCE HERE OR AT THE DOOR
Le Semeur (The sower)
CANADA / 2013 / 77mins
Directed by Julie Perron
East Coast Premiere / Post-screening Q&A with Director
A portrait of artist and seed grower Patrice Fortier who dedicates his passion and expertise to preserving plant diversity.
In Quebec’s Kamouraska Valley, Patrice Fortier is putting down roots at his seed company, La Société des plantes. Like a copyist in the Middle Ages, he is meticulously preserving rare and forgotten cultivars with the goal of breeding the “heirlooms of the future.” As Patrice gardens, he daydreams and transforms his harvests into art projects. The seasons come and go, his patience and care express his passion and knowledge, and his seed bank grows. His tiny storehouses of life will eventually sprout in thousands of vegetable gardens around the world. At the center of this paean to plant biodiversity and agricultural heritage is a unique, genetically motivated seed producer. Watch: the impossible is underway.
Screens with the accompanying short:
gaspEr & son
Directed by Hannah Jayanti, Jen G. Pywell and Miguel A. Rodriguez
(USA/2015/32mins) World Premiere/ Post-screening Q&A with Director
Burning fingers while bending glass is the least of Robbie’s worries as he tries to keep the lights on in his neon shop sign in Queens with the skills he learned from his father.