How does this film defy our expectations for what a“post-apocalyptic thriller” can be?
I think 40 Acres becomes something much more organic in its storytelling, and it does so by really digging us into who this family is. We are invested in their fight to stay together. That makes us more heartened to the apocalyptic nature of their plight. It’s beautiful to see them living their daily farm life — to be putting seeds in the ground, to be chopping corn, to be burning the rot, surveying the land. Then for them to sit down and have dinner together, be cooking together, playing together? It’s all family life. And it’s the thing that’s at danger — our being together is at danger when apocalyptic forces come.
Hailey, this grizzled soldier, protects her family by cutting them off from the world. Can you unpack that mindset?
Other people wanna connect to her, and she’s denying it. She’s denying it because of a history of Black and Indigenous people’s treatment in these countries. And yet, the thing that she fears most is probably the thing that will enable them to survive in a new kind of way . . . opening up is what she is growing into, and having much resistance to.
What exactly does 40 Acres have to say about the parent-child dynamic?
S***’s tough — whether you’ve got cannibals on your ass or you’re picking up kids from school in a regular world. Growing is difficult. Loving each other through the growth is difficult.
Much as a post-apocalyptic setting raises the stakes of any story, life for a parent — under any circumstances — feels like constant life-or-death stakes . . .
Coming from a Black parent’s perspective — thinking of the last five years and the George Floyd murder and Breonna Taylor — there is an inherent danger that is felt as a Black parent. Sure, in an apocalyptic world, it is that much more heightened because it’s not “shrouded.” But some would argue that it’s not shrouded in the present . . . The parenthood employed by [Hailey] in this aggressive, hardcore way is that I literally gotta make sure you f***ing survive . . . and if I don’t teach you to be combative strategically, you may die.
Once the mayhem begins in the film’s back half, and Hailey is fully unleashed, what are audiences in for?
I think when you’re on your last, when you’re backed into a corner, [Hailey is someone who says] “Alright, you wanna tango? Let’s tango. And if you think that I’m not going to keep fighting in the way that I have all my life, then you got another thing coming.” That’s what she wants her children to have, too — the spirit of not giving up . . . and laugh in the face of danger!
Now that you’ve had some success, and have a bit more freedom and control, what’s your process for choosing the stories that you truly want to tell?
I feel like I’m always fighting for stuff. Nothing’s a given — and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It keeps the muscle strong . . . I know that I’m curating in a specific way, wanting to tell stories that are intelligent, that are dynamic, that show the full spectrum of what it means to be in this body, that are across genres, across mediums . . . That’s just important for me. But at this point, it’s [nice] to have more control to take one’s time — to develop things with folks who are of like mind or have a unique perspective.
40 Acres is in theatres now
MEMORABLE ROLES:
This Atlanta-born actress is best known for 2022 biopic Till, embodying the real-life crusade of Mamie Till — whose son Emmett was the victim of one of the most infamous lynchings in U.S. history. She’s further distinguished herself in historical drama The Piano Lesson and airport action pic Carry-On.
CURRENT GIG:
Set in an apocalyptic near-future, 40 Acres casts Deadwyler as Hailey, a woman descended from Black farmers who moved to Canada after the Civil War. Like her ancestors, Hailey and her Native partner Galen (Michael Greyeyes) fight to protect their land and the life they’ve built from outsiders who seek to devour them — even as their son (Kataem O’Connor) yearns to connect with the world beyond those 40 acres.