Deep beneath Arctic permafrost, seeds from all over the world are stored in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, ready to be accessed should disaster strike. In 2012, due to the Syrian war, one center that provides seeds to the vault, an international agricultural research center in Aleppo, was forced to relocate to Lebanon. Thus began the laborious process of drawing from their seed collection at Svalbard to restart the process of producing new seeds on Lebanese soil. Chronicling these seeds’ transportation and cultivation, Wild Relatives presents a matrix of human and plant lives and their encounters across two distant places on earth. A meditative pace teases out tensions between the state and the individual as well as industrial and organic approaches to seed saving, climate change, and biodiversity, all witnessed through the journey of these seeds.
Screening with short film:
Off the Grid
With a university degree, a corporate job, and a stable marriage, Fadi Hachicho seemed like someone who had it all. However, as he celebrates his thirtieth birthday, he finds that he cannot ignore the incessant voice in his head telling him there must be more to life than just this. Following Fadi through his past and present, Off the Grid questions whether our modern-day concept of success is really the ultimate goal.
Director: Sarah Hassan | Documentary | Runtime: 9 mins | 2018 | Country: UAE | Language: English | Minnesota Premiere
Press
"Wild Relatives is a humbling, meditative exploration of the inherent goodwill of man as well as the dark violence he is capable of." - The Upcoming
Sponsors
TWIN CITIES ARAB FILM FESTIVAL
Mizna presents the thirteenth Twin Cities Arab Film Festival in partnership with the Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul. The Arab Film Fest showcases modern Arab cinema, featuring debut screenings of independent narrative, documentary, and experimental features and shorts.