Lyrical “Seeds” Is a Stunning Portrait of Black Generational Farmers

Brittany Shyne’s Seeds starts with a funeral.

But even as the individuals onscreen shuffle out of the wake and into their cars, we’re reminded that life begins anew — from inside a car, we see an elderly woman slowly fishing candy out of her purse for her energetic grandchild.

Premiering in the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Documentary Competition, Shyne’s feature directorial debut recognizes that some films don’t benefit from a linear format. “I knew my film was always very cyclical,” says Shyne at Seeds’ post-premiere Q&A on January 25 at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah. “I knew that this community was on the fringes, and all these people were at a certain point in age. And I think it just makes sense to go back in time with these participants.” The community that Shyne — who also acted as the documentary’s cinematographer — chose to center for this project comprises Black generational farmers in the American South. In 1910, Black farmers owned 16 million acres in the U.S., but today that number is much smaller. The farmers Shyne followed are still determined to pass their legacy on to younger generations. “I just thought it was important to understand things wither away, but things grow again,” explains Shyne.

Supported by Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program, Seeds invites us to observe three farms — two in Georgia and one in Mississippi — in a project that was nine years in the making. For editor Malika Zouhali-Worrall, the abundance of footage that Shyne collected was a boon. “From an editing point of view, it was like a godsend. There were 200 days of footage,” Zouhali-Worrall tells the audience during the film’s Q&A.