40 Acres is in theaters right now! That Hashtag Show had the good fortune of sitting down with Michael Greyeyes, Milcania Diaz-Rojas, and Leenah Robinson to talk about the movie. 40 Acres is the story of a family in a post-apocalyptic world facing threats from beyond their community. Greyeyes is a veteran of the genre, but he sees how his cultural experiences mirror other members of this fictional family. Indigenous people know their way around a world-altering event, and that’s apparent over the course of 40 Acres.

“I think it’s so important,” he began. “I love this genre. I’ve been so fortunate to be a part of this genre in other projects. Interestingly, in a post-apocalyptic world, there’s incredible diversity in the surviving communities! Indigenous people have already survived an apocalypse. Colonialism. Indigenous share this with people of African descent, who are brought to Turtle Island.”

“So, we’ve actually had numerous instances where our experiences parallel each other. I think it was important for me to embrace that, acknowledge history, to land myself in the story,” Greyeyes added. “Like, ‘Oh, this is a world I’m totally familiar with!’ I’m so glad that our team leaned into this idea of Indigenous identity, connected to land, African identity, connected to land, that’s how this family came into being.

40 Acres Imagines A Family In A Post-Apocalypse

The family themes stretch far beyond just the action in 40 Acres. Micania Diaz-Rojas hopes those bonds are the thing audiences discuss the most coming out of the film. For her, the challenges this family faces in 40 Acres mirror some of the trials and tribulations a lot of people feel when they call on their community.

“What’s beautiful about it is, that it’s not only entertaining, but there is this underlying message of legacy and unity in these communities,” Diaz-Rojas offered. “So, I think I would want people to go home wow-ed by the thrill of the action and everything. But, also, look at this world were it’s post-apocalyptic and reflects some of the challenges we’ve faced post-pandemic. Reflecting on in a way this is also showcasing our communities and a light of power.”

For Leenah Robinson, she’ll always cherish the memories of mentoring the younger actors and leaning into the routine that developed on-set. Robinson told us, “It was so important. I’ve said it before, but the family dynamic. And, just our dynamics as a cast were very mirrored while we were filming. Oftentimes, it was me, Jaeda [LeBlanc] and Haile [Amare] running around on-set being nuisances. A little chaos swell. 

“Michael [Greyeyes], Danielle [Deadwyler], and Kataem [O’Connor] were off doing ‘very important things,’” we laughed. “They were off filming for 12-13 hours. Building those dynamics were so important for me. Honestly, being an older sister to these younger girls. Showing them having fun on-set.” 

40 Acres is in theaters now!

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