The Seeds We Carry

Project Status:
This film is a work-in-progress but is close to completion. Things left to complete include final editing to refine the pacing, balance between participant stories, and b-roll/cover jump cuts, color grading, additional animation and graphics, a few edits to musical compositions, and final sound design and mixing.

Logline:
The Seeds We Carry is a short documentary weaving intimate portraits of community farm stewards in Southwest Philadelphia. Through the rhythms of planting, cooking, and sharing food, the protagonists reveal how everyday acts of care and resistance nurture belonging, forge cross-cultural kinship, and preserve a sense of home amid the pressures of displacement in a rapidly changing city.

Synopsis:
The film opens with establishing shots of Reinhard Street Community Farm & Kitchen as Tomasa narrates, speaking about the simple wonders of sitting in the garden in the morning and observing its life.

The main protagonists are introduced: Tomasa is from Puebla, Mexico. She grew up doing farm work and cooking for her large family. She finds connection to her family and ancestors through time spent in the gardens of the community farm.

Patrick runs into Tomasa at the farm. He is from Haiti and is excited to share one of his favorite dishes, soup joumou, a pumpkin soup traditionally prepared for Haitian Independence Day (January 1).

Ben is from Pennsylvania and is a farmer and a professional chef. He started the community farm project, and he finds joy in cooking for large numbers of people as well as harvesting fresh ingredients straight from the farm.

Naw Doh and Wah Paw, both born in Myanmar (Burma) and ethnically Karen, have both overcome huge obstacles to make their homes in Philadelphia. Naw Doh is a natural leader who many people rely on in her community, made up primarily of refugees and their children.

Wah Paw came to Philadelphia as a refugee, having spent years in a Thai refugee camp. She struggled at first, especially with communication and transportation, but has been able to thrive in her new home with the help of her community

For the Karen community, plants are not only food; they are medicine. This is especially important for the seniors of the community who grew up with the jungle providing everything they needed to survive. At Reinhard, the Karen community can continue to grow their ancestral crops.

Later, Ben shares about the history of the farm and how it got its start as a part of The People's Kitchen Philadelphia, and Patrick talks about finding fulfillment in the daily work at the farm and sharing food with his neighbors.

Longtime residents of the neighborhood, Mrs. Carr and Ms. Cassandra, talk about their connection to the neighborhood and why they enjoy being in the gardens. Steph, Cassandra's step-son, reminds us that gentrification and displacement are not needed for Black and Brown folks to have beautiful, livable neighborhoods.

Just past the halfway point in the film, we find out that the Karen farmers started growing their traditional crops on Reinhard Street because they lost their land at another farm in South Philadelphia. Naw Doh talks about the pattern of loss and rebuilding home for the Karen Refugee Community. Despite the obstacles, she says, "Wherever we moved, we had to carry our seeds.”

An energetic farm work montage takes us out of the somberness of the previous section. Tomasa shares how she has overcome different challenges and language barriers and shares some anecdotes about a plant called papalo.

For Wah Pah, her mother was her first cooking teacher. Naw Doh reiterates the importance of passing down Karen culinary traditions to the youth who are growing up increasingly Americanized.

Patrick makes the soup joumou, and his wife Maryse talks about its importance to the Haitian people as a symbol of freedom, dignity, and resilience.

As the film begins to come to a close, the film's protagonists are cooking, eating, and sharing food with their families and communities. They share impactful closing statements about connecting back to their roots, the intangible wonders of food, and the importance of mutual learning through cultural exchange.

To close, we are left with a beautiful montage sequence of images from Reinhard Street's annual harvest dinner event that combines the many cuisines and cultures represented in the neighborhood and at the farm.