The documentary “Seeds! Diversity of Wonder” by Iowa State University’s Seed Science Center won two Telly Awards — the six-part series won a Silver Telly, with one episode, “A Day Without Seeds,” winning a Bronze Telly.  

Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards honors video and television made for all screens, and is judged by video and television experts from in entertainment, publishing, advertising and emerging technology. The Telly Awards receives over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents. 

Tells story of seeds 

“Seeds are not just the beginning, but the renewal of agriculture, of all life and civilization. With this documentary, we wanted to communicate that value and beauty of seeds to the world,” says Manjit Misra, director of the ISU Seed Science Center and the film’s executive producer. “I think we’ve been able to capture that beauty.” 

The project started years ago when Misra and his family saw a film at a local science center about how floods can wipe out local vegetation. He knew then he wanted to reach a wide audience to tell his story about the beauty and wonder of seeds.  

The Seed Science Center produces a range of publications on the center’s mission, which is to research and test seeds for scores of plant species. However, those publications most often address an audience of farmers, plant breeders and seed scientists with a deep familiarity with seeds. Misra knew that seed technology affects so many issues of global importance (food, feed, nutrition, energy security, safety) that a well-produced film on the topic of seeds could be of interest to a much wider audience. 

Range of seed topics 

“From eastern Iowa to East Africa, farmers must plant good-quality seeds if we want to improve security and safety, especially in light of climate change,” Misra says. 

The award-winning documentary, produced by Pierce Mill Media, made its debut in March, at the Environmental Film Festival in Washington, D.C., to a sold-out auditorium. The film takes viewers from the ISU campus and Iowa farms to locales as far away as India and Africa. “Seeds are a miracle of nature and a product of science,” says film producer Walker Lambert.  

Comprised of six segments of roughly 10 minutes each, the film can be viewed separately or as a single, hourlong presentation. The segments cover a range of seed-related topics, including the role seeds play in everyday life, how seed technology can lead to more nutritious food, and how the genetic material contained in seeds is stored in a global network of seed banks. The episode “A Day Without Seeds” features the work of award-winning author and biologist Thor Hanson.  

Free public showing June 16

A screening for the documentary is scheduled for Father’s Day, June 16, on the ISU campus at Ames. It will be shown at 6 p.m. at the Reiman Gardens, 1407 University Blvd. This event is free and open to the public. The documentary will also be featured at this year’s Everson Global Seed Symposium, Oct. 14-15, just prior to the World Food Prize.     

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