Hollow Tree Past

Hollow Tree is a feature-length documentary that follows three teenagers coming of age in their sinking homeplace of Louisiana. For the first time, they notice the Mississippi River’s engineering, stumps of cypress trees, and polluting refineries. Their different perspectives — as Indigenous, white, and Angolan young women — shape their story of the climate crisis.

Offered in connection with MAAM’s current exhibition, Displacement, this film screening will be followed by a short conversation featuring Kira Akerman, director of Hollow Tree, with Brian Hone, Curator of Education at MassArt Art Museum. Audience Q&A to follow. 

@hollowtree_documentary
hollowtreefilm.com
Hollow Tree Trailer

Complimentary popcorn provided.

Kira Akerman

Kira Akerman is an award winning documentary filmmaker, educator, and educational consultant. Her debut feature-length documentary Hollow Tree won a Jury Prize at its premiere at the New Orleans Film Festival, and an award for Best Documentary at Chicago’s International Children’s Festival. Hollow Tree has been supported by the International Documentary Association, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Sundance Institute, among others. Kira’s peer reviewed essay, Filmmaking as a Classroom: A Documentary Practice for the Climate Crisis, appeared in Southern Cultures, and she has spoken at many conferences on her pedagogy.

Previously, Kira’s short “Station 15” (PBS) screened on a Smithsonian exhibit across Louisiana, The Climate Museum, DocNYC, Imagine Science Film Fest, and Sheffield's Doc Fest. Kira’s other short films have been featured in “The Atlantic,” The Newcomb Art Museum at Tulane University, the Ford Foundation Gallery, the Camden International Film Festival, MOMA, DocNYC, the Rotterdam Film Festival, and Clermont-Ferrand. H-E-L-L-O exhibited at The New Orleans Contemporary Art Center and MASS MOCA for Cauleen Smith’s exhibit, WE ALREADY HAVE WHAT WE NEED. Kira teaches documentary filmmaking, and workshops at the intersection of science and storytelling. She has a masters in Learning, Innovation, Technology, and Design from Harvard University.

MassArt Art Museum will open at 5:00pm on the evening of this event. The galleries will be open for viewing between 5:00-8:00pm for individuals who have registered in advance for this event. The film screening will begin at 6:00pm. The Museum will be accessible to registered event guests only. 

Ticketing Notice

This event is free with advance registration. MAAM may accommodate unregistered walk-up guests on the evening of this event only as capacity allows; walk-up tickets on the evening of the event are not guaranteed. Evening events often sell out; plan ahead and register in advance.

Documentation Notice

Photos and/or videos will be taken at this event. By attending this event, you acknowledge and agree that your likeness may be included in photos and videos of the event and that those photos and videos may be used by MassArt in connection with MassArt and MassArt Art Museum communications. If you do not agree with this usage, please notify a staff member upon arrival to receive a no-photo sticker.

Access

MassArt Art Museum is committed to creating a welcoming, accessible, and inclusive environment during in-person and virtual programs and events. To request an access or disability-related accommodation, please contact MassArt Art Museum at maam@massart.edu at least two weeks before the date of the event.

FREE

Advance Registration REQUIRED