HOLLOW TREE - Documentary and Q&A with director, producer, + 3 protagonists

Hayden Library

160 Memorial Drive Cambridge, MA 02142

Friday, April 5th - 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM

HOLLOW TREE documentary screening and Q&A

Location: The Nexus, 14S-130 in Hayden Library, MIT

Q & A moderated by Prof. Kate Brown

HOLLOW TREE won a Jury Prize for Best Louisiana Film at the New Orleans Film Festival, and Best Documentary at the Chicago’s International Children’s Film Festival.

About the Film

Hollow Tree follows three teenagers coming of age in their sinking homeland of Louisiana. For the first time, they notice the Mississippi River’s engineering, stumps of cypress trees, and billowing smokestacks. Their different perspectives — as Indigenous, white, and Angolan young women — shape their story of the climate crisis.

The 73-minute award-winning documentary, directed by Kira Akerman and produced by Monique Walton and Chachi Hauser, invites three young women, who did not previously know each other, to learn with the director, filmmaking team, and their respective communities. Mekenzie Fanguy (Houma, Louisiana) was born on coastal bayous and is a member of the United Houma Nation; Annabelle Pavy (Lafayette, Louisiana) is from a mostly white community, where climate change is largely viewed as a myth; and Tanielma Da Costa (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) immigrated from Angola, Africa when she was 6. They travel to different sites along the Mississippi River, where they engage in dialogue with engineers, activists, and Indigenous leaders. As these young women notice their surroundings, they begin to imagine Louisiana's past — its history of slavery, Indigenous dispossession, and colonization — and, by extension, Louisiana's future. The one that they will experience and help to shape.

The screening will be followed by a conversation with Director Kira Akerman, Producer Monique Walton, and the 3 protagonists. The Q&A will be moderated by Dr. Kate Brown, Professor of History of Science at MIT’s Program in Science, Technology, and Society. Seating is limited. Please register.

The event is sponsored by The Living Climate Futures Group at MIT.