Detroit native Mark McInnis is giving away seeds to help introduce his new film on the explosion of urban gardening in his home city.
In Urban Roots, McInnis connects the decline of the city’s auto industry to the rise of vacant lots that now provide space for gardens.
McInnis’s mother worked for Ford Motor Co. in Detroit throughout his childhood. “That job put braces on my bother’s teeth, paid for our skateboards and our weekend trips up north,” he said.
But as he grew up he watched the industry fall along with Detroit’s population. “I never got to see Detroit in it’s true heyday, but I knew what it meant to loose that,” McInnis said.
Urban Roots argues that gardening gives new life to the city, helping Detroiters to “reclaim their spirits.”
While the film has not been officially released, he and his film crew are marketing it in a unique way. Along with a purchase of the DVD and a $50 donation to promote urban farming,
Many heirloom seeds are very rare and sometimes quite expensive. The ones being given away come from Johnny Seeds, a supplier used in many Detroit gardens, according to the Urban Roots group. The offering is a physical acknowledgment of what he promotes in the film and certainly an interesting way of selling DVDs.
Perhaps the seeds themselves will be a major influence on people to buy the film.
See here for upcoming showings or how you can get your own seeds.