After making a name for herself in TV productions like Letterkenny and the critically acclaimed Reservation Dogs, Kaniehtiio Horn decided to sit down and write a script that took a stab at colonialism in the digital era. Despite initially reaching out to long-time friend and former Ghost BFF co-star Vanessa Matsui to direct Seeds, she was then encouraged to take the opportunity to get behind the camera for the first time, resulting in a fresh and gory-in-the-right-measure directorial debut. 

Seeds premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival last month, and is now coming to theatres nationwide just in time for spooky season. The film follows a Mohawk influencer named Ziggy (played by Horn), who secures a profitable partnership with a seed company called Nature’s Oath. After struggling to make ends meet, the protagonist feels relieved that promoting the corporation through social media will help her financially, but little does she know that in doing so, she is backing up a seed and fertilizer giant that is diminishing her people’s legacy.

Horn shared with SheDoesTheCity that she was particularly interested in exploring the concept of selling out through an Indigenous perspective. “I always found influencing just kind of a strange thing, especially as Indigenous people…but the more that I explored it, the more I understood it. It’s about finding what works for you without selling out,” she says.

After getting a call to housesit for her aunt at the rez, Ziggy leaves the big city and reconnects with her cousin Wiz (Dallas Goldtooth), who gives her a heads up about Nature’s Oath and its shady practices. As the character spends time with her cat, Potato, looking after her aunt’s home, the film takes a chilling turn as someone from the company is hellbent on retrieving the seeds that Ziggy’s family have been safekeeping for generations. 

Part comedy and part house-invasion thriller (with references to Home Alone), Seeds explores what it means to put your heritage on the line for financial gain. As Ziggy slowly becomes aware of what she’s gotten herself into, she becomes a fierce protector of the Kanien’kehà:ka ancestry and connection to the land. Horn shared that the action sequences in which her character boldly fights off the enemy were critical in telling the story.

“I’ve done some stunts, and I’ve done some action-y type things, so that wasn’t a completely new world for me. It was important for me to have the action and the impact of punches to really be felt viscerally by the audience, especially in the edit suite and in the sound mixing,” she says. 

When looking back at her first time leading a set, Horn described the experience as initially daunting, but rewarding due to the primarily Indigenous cast and crew that she worked with, who understood her unique vision. She credits cinematographer Jonathon Cliff and editor Lindsay Allikas for guiding her as she took on multiple hats, as the writer, director and lead in Seeds. She notes that “collaborating with people who I know and love and trust was a big part of the success of being able to do all three.”

Horn also spoke fondly about her time playing opposite Goldtooth, whose character brings comedic relief throughout the film. Ziggy is warned of the dangers of affiliating with Nature’s Oath through Wiz’s insight, which is both light-hearted and cautionary.


“I just find it really easy to work with him, especially on screen,” she says. “There were some things that were improvised, but he is the real layer of a lot of the information and exposition [in the film]. If it was anybody else, I think it would have just felt like exposition, but it’s really entertaining to listen to him and to watch him.”

Although this is her debut behind the camera, Horn is excited to return to the director’s chair in the future, whether it is for a film or an episode of a TV series. Yet, she did share with SheDoesTheCity that she will likely not pull off double duty again. 

“I won’t direct myself in a movie where I’m in almost every scene. I’ll direct an ensemble where there’s other characters who have storylines going on, because I was in hair and makeup every single day, and it was exhausting. I learned that much, but I’d love to try directing something that is not mine at all. That’s on my bucket list as well.”

As we eagerly wait for what Horn will helm next, Seeds arrives on the big screen across Canada this Friday, October 25.