In the post-apocalyptic world of 40 Acres, the Freemans are survivors. Former soldier Hailey (Danielle Deadwyler) made the choice to live with her family in isolation, training her children to fight and defend their land—killing first and asking questions later. But then Hailey’s eldest son Emanuel (Kataem O’Connor), meets Dawn—and she changes everything.

Milcania Diaz-Rojas recalls her audition for Dawn, a nurse who Emanuel meets on the run in the woods, just beyond the perimeter of the Freemans’ farm.

“I remember having full-on no makeup, messy hair, I got completely into the character,” she says. “When Dawn comes into the picture, it opens up this other world. There is more out there. There is good out there. There are loving people out there.”

40 Acres is co-written and directed by R.T Thorne, known for directing music videos for Sean Paul and Kardinal Offishall, and is produced by Jennifer Holness, director of the documentary Subjects of Desire, about Black women and beauty. 

Set to release in March 2025, 40 Acres had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this week. The film places a Black and Indigenous family in a position of power, unapologetically defending their land from ruthless invaders—grounding this dystopian story in the harsh realities of racism and colonialism these communities have faced for generations.

Still from ’40 Acres’ Courtesy of TIFF

When Diaz-Rojas first received the script for 40 Acres, she knew it was something special. 

“It’s showcasing the Black and Indigenous community in a way that’s not just the tragic side of their story…looking at it as there’s strength in who we are. That’s just such a beautiful message for us to take forward—that we are strong and powerful and capable.”

Diaz-Rojas, a Toronto-based actor of Dominican descent, has starred in leading roles in several Canadian indie films, and guest starred in episodes of The Bold Type and Slip, but 40 Acres marks her first time in a film premiering at TIFF. As transformative as the experience was for her career, it also came with some challenges, especially being away from home for two months to film in Sudbury.

“It was the first time I was away from my daughter for that long…she’s so small,” she says, adding that she hopes eventually her daughter will be inspired by how tenaciously she pursues her passion for acting.

“As an artist, I try to put out the most honest version of myself, and bring that to the characters. I hope that she’ll see me doing that and do the same—not be afraid to be herself, not hold back or dim her light.”

40 Acres exemplifies the type of projects Diaz-Rojas wants to take on going forward—scripts that move her, roles that challenge her, and stories that highlight the strength of Black, and more specifically, Afro-Latino communities. 

“That’s one of my career goals, to be able to represent the Afro-Latino community…having the opportunity to share our stories, our culture, our how we grew up, and bringing that to Canadian cinema,” she says. “Latinos come in all different shapes and colours— we shouldn’t be represented by just one side.”

A recent report from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found that less than 1% of all lead/co-lead roles from 2007-2022 went to Afro-Latinos. While conversations about this underrepresented community are starting to happen—like a recent TIME roundtable with all Afro-Latino actors, or pushback against films like In the Heights excluding Afro-Latinos—most of this movement is happening in the U.S., not Canada, as Diaz-Rojas points out.

“I don’t find that here… so creating those opportunities for myself and also for others to come after me is something that’s very high on my list,” she says.

Shortly after shooting 40 Acres, Diaz-Rojas began her time at the Canadian Film Centre’s CBC Actor’s Conservatory, a 6-month immersive onscreen acting program. Participants work on their craft every day, through hands-on workshops, onscreen opportunities, and establishing connections within the Canadian screen industry. 

Working on 40 Acres and the Actor’s Conservatory back-to-back was a challenge, but also a huge confidence boost, she says. “As chaotic as it felt, it felt like this is it. This is the dream.”

Part of that dream was finally diving into screenwriting. Diaz-Rojas made her writing debut while in the CFC program with ZURY, a short film telling the high-stakes story of a woman who has turned away from her past, and is faced with the difficult choice of returning to her old ways. The film has since been accepted into the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival and has been nominated for awards in three categories, including a Best Actress nomination for Diaz-Rojas.

“In the end, what we could do with a small budget at the CFC, it ended up being so beautiful,” Diaz-Rojas says. “I started a lot of writing projects, and I just never put it out there. I just ripped the band-aid and got to do it.”

A few months ago, Diaz-Rojas celebrated her CFC graduation, walking the red carpet with her cohort from the program. Earlier this month, 40 Acres had its world premiere at TIFF, and she once again walked the red carpet alongside the cast and crew—two celebrations of the incredible career milestones she’s achieved. While she’s excited, Diaz-Rojas says it all feels a little surreal—and she remembers a time when this success felt far away.

“From the beginning of my career, I had booked a couple things, and then after that, it was crickets for a while. So I feel like perseverance is a big one. Not letting those no’s get to you and if you know this is your calling, just keeping at it. Because maybe it’ll take you two years, three years or seven years…but seven years later, TIFF premiere!”