The Seeds of Vandana Shiva

synopsis

Filmmaker Talk Back and Community Panel Saturday November 5th Following the Screening

How did the willful daughter of a Himalayan forest conservator become Monsanto’s worst nightmare? The Seeds of Vandana Shiva tells the remarkable life story of Gandhian eco-activist Dr. Vandana Shiva, how she stood up to the corporate Goliaths of industrial agriculture, rose to prominence in the seed saving and organic food movements, and is inspiring an international crusade for change.

The Seeds of Vandana Shiva focuses on the people, circumstances and seminal events in Vandana’s life—what shaped her thinking and defined her purpose. It also shows how the battle against multinational agribusiness has become an international struggle between two visions for feeding the world: The first, a multinational corporate model of chemically dependent monoculture that rewards a capitalist imperative of profit and growth. And the other, ‘Earth Democracy, that honors ecology, biodiversity, sustainability and community—what Dr. Shiva demonstrates is the only way forward for the future of food.

Saturday Post Screening Panel Speakers:

Jim Becket

Producer/Director

Jim brings a varied career to his filmmaking: developmental economist, human rights lawyer, journalist, and author. As Director of Public Information for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Jim made several films about international refugee problems around the world. Since then he has co-produced several documentaries on contemporary environmental issues, including The Green Patriarch, The Amazon: The End of Infinity, The Arctic: The Consequences of Human Folly, and El Misterio del Capital de los Indigenas Amazonicos. Jim’s most recent film was the multi-award-winning Sons of Africa. Jim’s awards include festival Best Film awards, two Humanitas Awards, and a George Foster Peabody award.

Wes Gillingham

Associate Director Catskill Mountain Keeper: Panel Moderator

As Mountainkeeper’s co-founder and Associate Director, Wes helps develop the strategic thrust of our programs and coordinates collaborative efforts working with regional, state, and national partners on Extreme Energy Extraction and fossil fuel infrastructure fights. Dedicated to pushing New York into a Just Transition away from fossil fuels he has personally lived off the electric grid for over 30 years and serves on the advisory board of the Center for Earth Ethics. From 1996 to 2007 Wes and his wife ran a 150-member Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) vegetable operation and during that time he also served on the Board of Directors for the Northeast Organic Farming Association of NY. Prior to farming, Wes served as an Acting Director of Field Programs for the National Audubon Society Expedition Institute, teaching graduate and undergraduate environmental education throughout North America and also worked as a Park Ranger for the National Park Service. Although graduating from the University of Maine his real education comes from his extensive experiences in rural and wilderness America. Growing up learning about the interaction of humans and natural world here in Catskills and leading educational trips throughout the U.S give him a real-world grounding that few people in today’s society have.

Andrew Faust

Founder – Director Center for Bioregional Living

One of the premier Permaculture teachers and designers in North America with over two decades of experience in the field. His passionate and mind expanding talks and curriculum have motivated teachers, students since his decade long career as a H.S. teacher at Upattina’s, a open community free school in Glenmoore, PA. View Faust’s TED X lecture Andrew created his own Permaculture Ph’d project, in 1999, a fully off grid, Straw Bale educational center in Pocahontas County W.V. He moved to Brooklyn in 2007 and has been applying his knowledge to the urban landscape.Faust has been inspiring film makers with the message of Permaculture culminating in the film: Inhabit,  and a life changing Permaculture Design Certification course, with  thousands of graduates. Faust received a dual diploma in Design and Education from Permaculture Institute of North America in 2016. Andrew and Adriana Magaña with their daughter Juniper run the Center for Bioregional Living in Ellenville, NY., a hands-on educational campus for students and clients.
Andrew Faust, a visionary permaculture and bioregional educator taps into the rich synergy between permaculture and biodynamic agriculture which he has been studying with a focus on orchards since he completed his permaculture design training in 1996.  Some of our design clients include: Click to View
Andrew is a certified Alternative School Teacher, focusing on Bioregional Education; he instructed at Upattina’s Open Community High School from 1992-2001. Faust holds a B.A. in comparative religions from Guilford College.

Juanita Sarmiento

Rural Migrant Ministry Catskill Regional Coordinator and Youth Economic Group Coordinator

Juanita Sarmiento is the Catskill Regional and Youth Economic Group Coordinator in Sullivan County, NY. Juanita is responsible for coordinating the Youth Economic Group, a leadership development program for high school-aged students – one of several components of Rural & Migrant Ministry, Inc.’s Youth Empowerment Programs (YEP), which works with rural, migrant, and immigrant youth. In 2010 YEG members founded and continue to run Bags for Justice (http://bagsforjustice.com/) the only youth-led and union-affiliated (NYSUT) cooperative business that we know of in NYS.
Juanita was born in Colombia and raised in Sullivan County, NY. She graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a major in Biology and minor in Italian. During high school and college, she was very actively involved in advocating for the community and maintained leadership roles in organizations that did the same.

Filmmakers:

Jim Becket and Camilla Becket

Camilla Becket

Producer/Director

Camilla grew up in South Africa and worked in the anti-apartheid movement. After college, she managed outreach and communications for independent publishers who originated works by anti-apartheid intellectuals and artists, including Nobel Laureates Nelson Mandela, Nadine Gordimer, and J.M. Coetzee. She launched Becket Films with Jim Becket with a mission to focus on international environmental issues, social justice, and health. Camilla has co-produced several Becket Films projects, including the award-winning Sons of Africa, and films for the Religion, Science, and Environment series about besieged water bodies around the world that feature leading environmentalists and climate change activists as well as religious and indigenous leaders.

Our Partners

The Collaborative College High School: Hurleyville Campus

Homestead Collaborative College High School takes the mission and values of Homestead School to the level of depth and application appropriate for secondary school students.
As our students begin the incredible transformation of adolescence they are welcomed on to a new campus that speaks to the potential, the desire to explore new things, and the opportunity for new levels of independence. The Collaborative College High School welcomes each new class of 7th grade students to a place of joyful and dedicated academic, creative, and personal study and growth. https://homesteadschool.com/collaborative-college-high-school-new

Rural & Migrant Ministry

Since 1981 Rural & Migrant Ministry, a statewide, non-profit organization, has been standing proudly with the rural and migrant communities throughout New York State.
We act to overcome the prejudices and poverty that degrade and debilitate people within rural New York by building communities that celebrate diversity, achieve true mutuality and fight for dignity and opportunity for all.

We work with rural leaders, both young and older, who are committed to equality and cooperative opportunity, especially within agricultural systems. We also support people in faith, labor and university communities who seek to stand with rural leaders as allies.  https://ruralmigrantministry.org/

Catskill Mountainkeeper

Catskill Mountainkeeper’s mission is to protect our region’s forests and wild lands; safeguard air and water; nurture healthy, equitable, and sustainable communities; empower environmental justice communities; and accelerate the transition to a 100% clean and just energy future in New York State and beyond.  Established in 2006, Catskill Mountainkeeper is the strongest advocate for the Catskill region. Working with a network of concerned citizens and strategic partners, Mountainkeeper’s programs protect and promote our region’s extraordinary natural heritage, while promoting smart development that supports local communities and grows our economy in a sustainable way.

Over the past decade and a half, we have worked to protect our region’s pristine wild areas and open spaces from threats ranging from fracking to outsized development projects to the invasion of dirty and dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure, while building ecotourism, supporting farmers, and standing behind local businesses to support local communities and to build a stronger sustainable economic future.

Mountainkeeper works to fend off threats to the region’s natural heritage, pristine beauty, and abundant natural resources, including our beloved Catskill Park and the watershed that provides drinking water for many millions of people in the New York City area. Because economic sustainability is a big component of conservation, Mountainkeeper’s programs also seek to support the region’s twin economic drivers of tourism and farming.All our work is made possible through the dedication of our activists, supporters, and partners, who provide critical funds and people power to drive our programs.  https://www.catskillmountainkeeper.org/

 

 

Cast

Lionel Astruc, Deborah Barker, Vinod Bhatt

Directed by

Camilla Denton Becket, James Becket

Written by

Camilla Denton Becket, James Becket, Anthony Ellison