Frozen Seed
Frozen Seed is a science-fiction/action short film written by Tim Bissell and directed by Tim Bissell & Craig F. Watkins. It stars Tyler Brent and Charles Lo Manto as a pair of scientists in search of our most precious resource - food.
Plot
In a world reeling from The Effects of a nuclear war brought AbOUT by the faltered mutually assured destruction edict two idealistic scientists named Lars and Søren are all that remain of a recovery mission that has ventured far out into the eerie frozen landscape. They are in search of a lost food cache that contains a store of valuable seeds that can be used to nourish the planet’s damaged population who are held up in underground dwellings operating under an ad-hoc totalitarian government.
After a dangerous and grueling journey through the wilderness they secure their target’s location and unearth the cache. Their jubilance can not be contained, but is shattered when they are clinically and ruthlessly accosted by an unyielding commando named Osprey (Robert Regan) and his men.
After quickly dispatching of Søren, Osprey facetiously thanks a frightened and confused Lars before explaining that their efforts to feed the planet are in vain. Osprey commandeers the seeds in the name of the government and declares that they will go to the bellies of those the government favours. Lars tries to remonstrate but is quickly executed by Osprey’s callous command leaving the two young men dead for their efforts and the most precious find in this post apocalyptic world in the grasp of the powerful with no chance of helping the needy.
Production
Filming
Frozen Seed was written by Tim Bissell after reading a National Geographic Magazine article about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. It was shot over two days on miniDV in the February of 2008 on a private estate in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada just outside the city of Burlington.
Frozen Seed was made on a shoestring budget with the bulk of the money spent being used to buy raw materials in order to make a dolly and track. The dolly was constructed by Tim Bissell's father. The military and expedition equipment was provided by actor, Robert Regan who has a history of repelling and mountaineering. A variety of weapons were used throughout the production including Ak-47 and M16 rifles. The weapons were rubber molds made from casts of toy guns and then painted black.
Frozen Seed was produced by Bissell and Watkin's production company Blacklist Pictures.
Trivia
Frozen Seed concludes with the following quote from Italian novelist, Alberto Moravia.
"Our ideals, laws and customs should be based on the proposition that each generation in turn becomes the custodian rather than the absolute owner of our resources - and each generation has the obligation to pass this inheritance on in the future."
Reception
Frozen Seed was received extremely well by festival audiences and received the Viewer's Choice Award in the inaugural Hamilton Music and Film Festival in April 2008 and the 1st Prize in the inaugural Hamilton Cinematic Festival in July 2008. In November 2008, Frozen Seed headlined the dramatic short section of the Hamilton Film Festival which is run by filmmaker, musician and composer Nathan Fleet. Hamilton, Ontario is where Bissell and Watkins are based.
Frozen Seed was acquired by OUAT Media for worldwide distribution in early 2009.
See also
- Svalbard Global Seed Vault
- Nuclear Winter
- Short Film
- People from Hamilton, Ontario