Bringing members of the Kahnawake First Nation on set of Kaniehtiio Horn’s debut feature Seeds started a ripple effect for the production and beyond.

The horror film was shot in North Bay, Ont., which executive producer Eva Thomas tells Playback Daily is “Ojibway country.” But Horn — who wrote, directed and starred in the film — is Mohawk, from the Kahnawake reserve outside of Montreal.

“​​While familiar with Mohawk traditions and cultures, I’m not an expert,” says Thomas, who is Ojibway. “[Horn] was shooting this very strong Mohawk theme, Mohawk language, Mohawk set design – it’s all throughout the film, it’s the fabric of the film.”

Thomas says Horn asked her to bring members of the Kahnawake nation onto the set so her community could be involved. Thomas applied for an Indigenous sector grant from the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) to fund five Kahnawake trainees to work in direction, grips, set decoration and post.

The move soon proved itself essential. During the 17-day shoot Thomas heard a set decorator trainee speak quietly about a Mohawk flag being upside down on a blanket.

This could have been a big blunder, as the film follows a Kanienʼkehá:ka (Mohawk) influencer who finds out that she struck a brand deal with a seed company that wants to steal sacred corn, bean and squash seeds from her family.

“That’s something that somebody who really understands that iconography [would notice]” says Thomas. “There were many times that we called on them [the trainees] for their expertise and their cultural awareness and language knowledge.”

Once the Northern Ontario branch of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) heard about the Indigenous trainee program, they wanted to replicate it. They provided Seeds with the money to hire three additional Indigenous trainees from Northern Ontario to work in gaffing, sound and costume.

The mentorship didn’t stop on set. Thomas helped one of the Kahnawake trainees on his feature script. She then helped him apply for money from the ISO to develop it further.

“It works, the mentorship thing,” says Leonard Farlinger, who produced Seeds alongside Horn and Jennifer Jonas.

Thomas says the entire set of Seeds was a “who’s who of Indigenous actors.” Horn, who spent the last 20 years as an actor in shows such as Reservation Dogs and Letterkenny, brought her network to help her shoot her directorial debut, including Dylan Cook and Graham Greene.

“The humour is very me, it’s very Kahnawake, it’s very much my rez,” says Horn. “I’m mostly scared for my own people to watch it. But it’s for them.”

The concept for the film came to Horn when she shot a movie in the U.S. which required a lot of physical work. On a smoke break, she casually mentioned to the special effects team that she just wanted a movie where you could shoot almost everything in one place. A home invasion movie — an adult version of Home Alone — seemed like the perfect fit for that. Seeds is mainly shot at one cabin in North Bay.

But she wanted a reason for there to be a home invasion. Corn, bean and squash seeds are very important to the Mohawk people, so she thought they could be the instigation for a break-in.

Horn already knew Farlinger and Jonas, the owners of the Toronto-based production company New Real Films, because they had all worked on the 2009 film, Leslie, My Name Is Evil. They had stayed in touch since. Farlinger and Jonas even visited the Kahnawake reservation and met Horn’s mother.

When Horn came to the New Real producers with the idea of Seeds in 2020, Farlinger says they immediately said yes and started working on development. Thomas came on board in late 2021, after Horn reached out to her (they knew each other from their work with the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival) and worked on the script together for the next six months.

The $2.1 million budget started with money from the ISO, which has provided continuous support for the film, from pre-production to post to marketing.

Telefilm, Ontario Creates and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation also provided funds for the film. Toronto distributor levelFILM came on before production began.

Seeds wrapped less than a month before the SAG-AFTRA strike, which lasted from July 14 to Nov. 9, 2023. Though many of the actors were Canadian, one key role was played by a U.S. actor, Dallas Goldtooth (also in Reservation Dogs).

SAG-AFTRA actors weren’t the only ones affected by the strike, but many of the crew members. Farlinger says many of them didn’t work for eight months after Seeds, even after the strike ended.

Farlinger and Thomas say they could feel their anxiety on set about the future of their livelihoods, which Thomas suggests may have translated into filming. “Energetically, if it’s on the set, it’s going on the frame,” she says.

Seeds made its world premiere in the Discovery programme at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 5.

Producers say they don’t have a concrete sales strategy going into TIFF, but have invited many of their contacts to the screening.

Seeds will have its Canadian theatrical release at the end of October.

Image courtesy of levelFILM