Tessa Thompson Joins as Executive Producer for Sundance-Winning Documentary ‘Seeds’
Tessa Thompson Joins Team Behind Award-Winning Documentary ‘Seeds’
Emmy nominee Tessa Thompson has partnered with her production company, Viva Maude, to executive produce Brittany Shyne’s acclaimed documentary Seeds, which recently won the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and is now under consideration for an Academy Award.
Seeds explores the lives of Black generational farmers in the American South, delving into their triumphs, challenges, and the fragile nature of land ownership and legacy. In 1910, Black farmers owned approximately 16 million acres of land, yet today, more than 90% of that land has been lost.
“Brittany Shyne’s Seeds is a quietly extraordinary work: clear-eyed and responsive to the textures of an American story too often overlooked,” said Thompson. “It reminds us that being alive means slowing down enough to notice. At Viva Maude, we look for work that demands presence and expands the aperture of who is in the frame. Seeds is that rare film.”
Shyne expressed her enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, “We are overjoyed to have Tessa and Viva Maude join the Seeds team. Tessa’s impassioned dedication to uplift and magnify boundary-pushing stories and unique perspectives has been incredibly inspiring. As we continue to share this untold and poignant story of generational farmers in the South, we couldn’t ask for more enthusiastic and supportive collaborators to come on board this journey with us.”
Following its premiere at Sundance, Seeds has screened at over 70 film festivals, earning more than a dozen awards, including Grand Jury accolades at the Full Frame Film Festival, SFFILM Film Festival, and the Seattle International Film Festival.
The documentary has also received nominations for two Critics Choice Awards for Best First Feature Documentary and Best Cinematography, along with the Maysles Documentary Center Albie Award, recognizing it as one of the top contenders for the Oscars. Shyne has been selected for this year’s IDA Emerging Filmmaker Award, which will be presented at the IDA Awards ceremony in December. The film is set to screen at IDFA, LDNDOCS, and Torino this November before its qualifying theatrical release.
Seeds is produced by Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, Danielle Varga, and Shyne, with Leslie Fields-Cruz and Maida Lynn serving as executive producers.
This fall, Thompson starred in the period drama Hedda, directed by Nia DaCosta, a reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic stage work. She is scheduled to receive the Tribute Award at the Gotham Awards and is nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance for her role in the Amazon MGM Studios film.
Thompson is represented by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, and Jeff Bernstein at Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein, while Shyne is represented by Cinetic Media.
