Cultural Enhancement Series

Neon lights and the aroma of fresh popcorn textured the air Thursday, Sept. 9, as The Capitol Arts Center took its turn showing “Family Tree” on the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, courtesy of WKU’s PCAL Cultural Enhancement Series.

“Family Tree” is a documentary on sustainable forestry practices in North Carolina. The film follows the life of two African-American families, living on their ancestral farms as they work to create viable but profitable forests while navigating sensitive interpersonal dynamics.

Jennifer MacArthur, the film’s director, described “Family Tree” as “a family dramedy” and “a way to make sustainability real, and something for any regular person to understand.”

“That was really important to me,” MacArthur said. ”Showing a sense of hope for the future and giving people ways into the conversation about climate change.”

Beyond fighting the current climate crisis, the film makes clear that the Jefferies and the Williamses are taking part in more than just the conservation of the environment. Both families live in their generational homes and are working to conserve their legacy. The film shows that both families are proud of their roots and love one another, even if they don’t always see eye to eye. 

“Family Tree” hones in on the family dramedy and aspects of legacy using these narrative focal points to explore the lives of the rural Black population in a way not commonly shown in the larger zeitgeist of media.

“I think modern media falls short just even telling the story,” MacArthur said. “Black rural people don’t even exist in the public consciousness and the public discourse and the media.”

The audience was engaged as they viewed the families’ perspectives, switching from hearty laughter to sober silence repeatedly as the struggles, triumphs and witty remarks flowed out of the families onto the big screen.

“I really, really liked the film,” Reed Williams, theater major said. “My family is full of Black farmers so it was kinda more close to home a bit.”

News Reporter Anthony Clauson can be reached at anthony.clauson994@topper.wku.edu.