‘Louisiana Grass Roots’ documentary set for screening in SW La.

Published 5:11 am Sunday, January 18, 2026

“Louisiana Grass Roots,” a short documentary exploring Louisiana’s forgotten prairie lands, will screen at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, at the Strand Theatre, 432 N. Main Street. Admission is free.

Produced by Dr. Phyllis Baudoin Griffard and directed by Jillian Godshall, the film highlights the endangered landscapes of Southwest Louisiana and the people dedicated to their preservation.

“The film celebrates the whole landscape of Southwest Louisiana,” Griffard said. “Our natural heritage has shaped our cultural heritage—our music and food would not be what they are today if the land hadn’t drawn people here.”

Originally, she said there were two and a half million acres in the triangle south Southwest Louisiana that is part of a bigger coastal prairie that goes all the way to Corpus Christi, Texas. But the part that’s in Louisiana, since some of the remnants were discovered in the 1980s at the height of the Cajun Renaissance, they called it the Cajun Prairie.

“So this is a huge area that’s very little of it left as remnant prairie,” she said. “Most of it has gone into agriculture and cattle ranching, and residential city building and all of that.

Most people do not recognize the prairie land when they drive down the road.

“They don’t know that that’s what it was or what its history was, or how the fact that – and this is a big theme of the film, is that the natural heritage of our region, which has been largely forgotten,” she said. “Most of us are very disconnected with our natural landscape, the plants, wildlife, insects and all. But the natural heritage of our areas shaped our cultural heritage.

“Our music and food would not be what it was had the various kinds of people that came here not made their contributions to that culture. And the reason they came here was because the land was the way it was. So our natural heritage has shaped our cultural heritage.”

Griffard, a biologist and retired educator from University of Louisiana at Lafayette, met Godshall a few years ago at a workshop for master naturalists in Eunice and began discussing the possibility of making a film about the prairie.

“We started talking and she was very interested in making a film about the prairie, and the next thing you know, I was writing grants and she was writing the film,” Griffard said.

The documentary was filmed during various seasons around Acadiana and took about two years to complete. It features local scientists and culture bearers, musicians, people who have a strong connection to the prairie, including Geno Delafose, Megan Constantin, Dr. Jeffery Darensbourg, Dr. Charles Allen, Dr. Malcolm Vidrine, Larry Allain, and Steve Nevitt, with an original score by Grammy-nominated musician Blake Miller.

“The message for the film is we want everyone who lives here to love the land they live on, and that if they have an opportunity to on land that they steward, to add back some of those key plants and things that bring the right insects, birds, wildlife and things that restore ecological functions,” Griffard said.
“What you do on your property matters, and if you have a piece of land you steward, it can make a really big difference in improving the ecological function.”

The screening is a first for Jennings and the furthest west the film has been soon, Griffard said. Previous screenings have been in the Acadiana area.

Reaction to the film has been well received, she said.

“The overwhelming reaction is, what can I do, I want to help,” Griffard said. “So we have a list of resources and we can talk about what their options are, but really the answer is, it depends on what the circumstances are but it gets people talking and motivated.”

Griffard said the film is great for people who own land and those who have a sense of appreciation for land.

“It’s great for farmers and ranches,” she said. “It’s great for people in subdivisions who just want to put a pollinator-carbon in their yard. It’s great for school groups, especially 4-H and FFA.”

It aims to redefine our perception of the prairie by highlighting its ecological significance and deep human connections.

“A lot of of us go on vacation to go to mountains or to tropical islands, so we kind of forget that there’s beauty in our very own backyards,” she said. “It looks different than other places. It’s flat, it’s grassy and the wildflowers are only their part of the year, and we dismiss them as weeds. Without the right eyes and background, we don’t know the power that those things have so we dismiss their beauty.”

She hopes the film gives people a new appreciation of their landscape.

A question and answer session will follow the screening featuring a panel of guests.

The project is supported by the Acadiana Center for the Arts, Cajun Prairie Habitat Preservation Society, Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, Louisiana Native Plant Society, University of Louisiana at Lafayette Foundation, and the Acadiana Native Plant Project and sponsored locally by the Jeff Davis Parish Tourism Commission.