Join us for the Boston Premiere of Hollow Tree, hosted by History Design Studio and co-sponsored by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The screening will be followed by a conversation with Director Kira Akerman, Producer Monique Walton, and the 3 protagonists.
Moderated by Walter Johnson with an Introduction by Vincent Brown.
This event is the first in the Swamp Capitalism Event Series convened by History Design Studio Fellow Robin McDowell.
We extend special thanks to the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Dean Bridget Long for their generous support
Free and open to the public. Advance tickets highly recommended.
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 DaCosta (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.
Watch the Trailer
Kira Akerman is an educator and documentary filmmaker. Hollow Tree, her debut feature film, 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. Hollow Tree was selected for the Sundance Institute’s 2019 Talent Forum, and was awarded grants from the Sundance Institute, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and others. Previously, Kira directed and produced the short “Station 15,” (PBS, 2017), winner of an Audience Award at the New Orleans Film Festival and “The Reel South Award” at Indie Grits. Screenings included a Smithsonian exhibit, Sheffield Doc/Fest, The Climate Museum, the UN Global Climate Summit, and DOCNYC. Kira directed and produced the short, “The Arrest,” (“The Atlantic,” 2018). Screenings included The Camden International Film Festival, MOMA, and The Ford Foundation Gallery. Prior to directing, Kira worked on art departments, including a visual effects unit mentored by Doug Trumbull (2001: A Space Odyssey), and as a producer for commercials and shorts, including “In the Wake” (dir. Cauleen Smith). Kira consults for the educational nonprofit Ripple Effect, which is pioneering water literacy in k-12 education, and the New Orleans Center for the Gulf South, an interdisciplinary, place-based institute, at Tulane University. Kira is currently pursuing her Masters in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Kira Akerman / Director
Monique Walton is an independent producer of fiction films and documentaries. She won the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards Producers Award. She recently produced Greg Kwedar’s feature Sing Sing, which premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and was acquired by A24. She produced Annie Silverstein’s debut feature Bull, which premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival – Un Certain Regard, and was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards. Bull is currently being released by Samuel Goldwyn Films and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. She produced the documentary feature Hollow Tree, directed by Kira Akerman, which premiered at the 2022 New Orleans Film Festival. Other credits include Jesse Klein’s We’re Still Together and Pahokee, directed by Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan. She has produced numerous short films, including Silverstein’s “Skunk”, winner of the jury award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival- Cinéfondation. Her short films, “Dark Matters” and “The Becoming Box”, were recently featured on the Criterion Channel as part of the Afrofuturism program. Walton’s films have been supported by Cinereach, The Sundance Institute, San Francisco Film Society, Austin Film Society, International Documentary Association, and Film Independent.
Monique Walton / Producer
Mekenzie Fanguy (Houma, Louisiana) was born on coastal bayous and is a member of the United Houma Nation. Mekenzie is currently enrolled in Nicholls University, where she is studying business. She is one of the 3 protagonists in the film.
Mekenzie Fanguy / Protagonist
Annabelle Pavy (Lafayette, Louisiana) is from a mostly white community, where climate change is largely viewed as a myth. Annabelle recently finished her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts at Louisiana State University. She is one of the 3 protagonists in the film.
Annabelle Pavy / Protagonist
Tanielma Da Costa (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) immigrated from Angola, Africa when she was 6. Tanielma is currently a dual major of engineering and French at Louisiana State University. She is one of the 3 protagonists in the film.
Tanielma Da Costa / Protagonist
Hosts and Moderator
Vincent Brown / Director of History Design Studio, Charles Warren Professor of History and African & African American Studies
Robin McDowell / History Design Studio Fellow, Convener of Swamp Capitalism Event Series
Walter Johnson / Winthrop Professor of History and African & African American Studies, Director of The Commonwealth Project
The Swamp Capitalism Event Series brings together artists, teachers, activists, filmmakers, and academics from New Orleans, Cambridge, and beyond.
Swamp Capitalism: The Roots of Environmental Racism, an interdisciplinary project of History Design Studio Fellow Dr. Robin McDowell, traces racial, ecological, and economic encounters between African descended peoples, petroleum, sugar, and salt in Louisiana swamps on a geologic time scale. The programming brings this research to life through artmaking, documentary film, and intergenerational dialogues.