Radical Hospitality Meets Cinema in Earth Seed: May 17 at OMCA

By Kristina Sepetys

Photo courtesy of Oakland People’s Kitchen Collective

Octavia Butler’s 1993 novel, Parable of the Sower, imagines a near-future America fractured by climate collapse, economic inequality, and social breakdown. It’s a world where survival depends not on individual strength but on community, mutual aid, and the radical act of caring for strangers. Inspired by that vision, Oakland’s People’s Kitchen Collective (PKC) has created Earth Seed, a documentary that asks: what does Butler’s vision look like when enacted now, across present-day California?

You can find out on Sunday, May 17 at a 1pm screening for Earth Seed at the Oakland Museum of California. The documentary traces a pilgrimage through California rooted in Butler’s visionary Parable series and the Black Panther Party’s legacy of community care. Filmmaker Fox Nakai documents PKC’s journey across five California regions, visiting activists, farmers, artists, and elders who are building models for collective survival, from the native lands of the Tongva to the Pomo territories.

“We made this film because as a community we knew we needed an antidote for the increasing social ills that impact our lives on a daily basis,” said PKC co-founder Jocelyn Jackson.

After the 1–3 pm screening in the James Moore Theater, gather in OMCA’s garden for testimonies and spoken word from PKC co-founders Jocelyn Jackson, Võ Hải, and Sarai Bordeaux. Revolutionary artist and former Black Panther Minister of Culture Emory Douglas will speak on the power of community collectives.

Afterward, nourish yourself with food from Understory, a worker-owned restaurant born from pandemic solidarity, where every dish reflects collective decision-making and radical community care.

May 17 | Oakland Museum of California | $1–$30 sliding scale | Read more here