When we think of large Hispanic populations, we tend to focus on large urban centers – New York, Chicago, Miami, LA, and San Francisco, for example – but Hispanics are the largest minority group across the entire country. For example, meet Lancaster City, Pennsylvania – the county is perhaps best known for its prominent rural Amish population (often referred to as the Pennsylvania Dutch, even though they’re descended from Germans), but the urban center of the county, known as The Red Rose City, is almost 40% Latino, and nearly 25% Puerto Rican alone, making it the highest population density of Puerto Ricans in all of PA. This leads some – arguably racially insensitive – Pennsylvanians to refer to the area as “The Spanish Rose.”
It’s the juxtaposition of these two worlds that interested budding director David B. Godin, a Lancaster native, to work on his film Seed. He writes:
Growing up & currently living in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I’ve always had a keen interest in the two worlds I witness on a daily basis: For the past 16 years I’ve lived a mile away from a 500 acre Amish Farm, and spent the other half of my time on the college campus in the city where my father works…
During my sophomore year at college (the same college I grew up visiting), I mentored inner-city youth. Many of these kids were talented students but also victims of both physical and emotional domestic violence. Through this, I became increasingly interested in how these kids achieved so much academically with little to no support coming for their parents, friends, or legal guardians.
The film, which was shot in Lancaster using local Lancaster residents, follows the story of Samuel, a 12 year old boy who becomes fascinated with the rural world outside his city, and seeks to connect with the land. Along the way, he encounters a local farmer and his son who he believes could become catalysts in aiding his dream to explore the countryside.
From the trailer, the film looks beautiful so far. The problem, of course, is one of funds – it needs to finish production, and then post production before it can be called complete and submitted to festivals. If you would like to help Seed get off the ground and raise awareness of the problems – hell, the existence – of Latino communities outside major urban centers, you can donate to Seed’s KickStarter campaign. Head over and check out the trailer.
