Film Review: The Seed of Truth
by Karen Pecota

W.Y. Geng, USA, 2024

Based on true events, filmmaker W.Y. Geng brings to light devastating effects of misinformation in the Stalin Soviet-era in her film THE SEED OF TRUTH. Stalin allowed a devastating movement of mass starvation among his own citizens by ignoring scientific facts on specific genetics that would have given a plentiful food source for all time and the survival of millions.

THE SEED OF TRUTH honors truth to power and presents a narrative of how a renowned agronomist, Konstantin Vavilov (Dove Meir)*, in the Soviet Union under Stalin’s regime, discovered how to save his fellow countrymen from starvation through genetics in the form of seeds. Sadly, Joseph Stalin and his director of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union, Trofim Lysenko, refused to acknowledge the findings of Konstantin and his colleagues because it was not politically expedient. Lysenko believed modern genetics were against the Marxist-Leninist principles and therefore, Stalin made Lysenko’s views the official doctrine and ignored the positive impact on humanity.

Geng notes that at the heart of THE SEED OF TRUTH lies the relationship between Konstantin and his daughter, Elena (Virginia Shannon). Konstantin pours much of his life’s work into his daughter, teaching her about the sciences but mostly the impact of seeds and their significance.

Konstantin traveled the world for his scientific research and collected seeds from every country he visited, amounting to roughly 200,000 species. He shared his findings with Elena and loved to explain to her the power of genetics, and the impact that one small seed could have on the world’s food resources. Elena took it to heart.

Elena followed in her father’s footsteps. Decades later, Elena, a renowned agronomist and plant geneticist in her own right is honored for leading initiatives worldwide that contributed to the extensive increase in food supply, noting that her work is credited to saving over a billion people from starvation.

At a special ceremony, Elena shares that her father was her first science teacher and begins to tell the audience why her family’s story is the reason she receives such recognition. THE SEED OF TRUTH begins as Elena recalls the last time she saw her father, not knowing, nor understanding the danger her father faced. The lies told to her and her mother about his absence, disappearance, then death did not make sense. Elena vowed to seek the truth and honor her father’s work by continuing what he had started.

Geng eloquently captivates her audience in THE SEED OF TRUTH by using beautifully pristine cinematography, and giving attention to film set detail of the nostalgic era of Stalin’s Soviet Union. The exquisite visuals and imagery Geng and her crew make use of in this storyline, one almost needs no dialogue to convey the message. These various aspects are a difficult task to accomplish within the framework of the short film guidelines. Even more impressive is the depiction of the father-daughter relationship that is ever-so pure and deeply moving. One sincerely understands why Vavilov’s daughter would continue his fight to end starvation. Thus, the impact of the visuals, dialogue and performance Geng uses to tell the story in THE SEED OF TRUTH is something in which the real Vavilov (Nikolai Vavilov) would be proud of. A film not to be missed that inspires one to speak truth to power as it captures a passionate endeavor to save lives, a heart wrenching demise, but a beautiful ending to a tragic story of historical significance.

*In the film the name Konstantin Vavilov is not the real name of the famous agriculturist in which the story as inspired. His is Nikolai Vavilov as noted in The Inspired Story below:

The Inspired Story:

Geng shares, “Stalin’s Soviet regime, ignored scientific facts on genetics, resulting in the mass starvation of millions of its citizens. During this era, the regime persecuted over 3,000 biologists who stood up for scientific truth.” Adding, “The film depicts the perils of intruding politics and ideology into the affairs of science, and sheds light on the goodness, resilience, and triumph of humanity in the face of repression and tyranny.” Continuing, “Our film is inspired by the life’s work of Nikolai Vavilov to the study and improvement of various cereal crops. In his research, he had one single objective: to increase agricultural production and to provide more food for the global population.” Noting, “His seed collection amounted to bringing the largest diverse collection in the world’s cultivated plants and (he) had developed strategies on how to use them for breeding new strains that created the world’s largest seed bank.” Adding, “Under Stalin’s orders, Vavilov was arrested for openly criticizing Lysenko. Vavilov, who dedicated his life to saving Russia from famine and feeding the world, starved to death in a Soviet Gulag.”