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In 2023, recent University of Texas graduate Lara Palmqvist became the first student from her university to win the Sloan Student Discovery Prize. At the time she won the prize, Palmqvist was studying at UT Austin’s prestigious Michener Center for Writers, a surprise to no one who has read her elegiac feature film script THE GARDEN. A talented writer in both prose and in screenwriting, we spoke with Palmqvist about developing THE GARDEN, the artists who inspire her, and the symbiosis between science, religion, and art.
Science & Film: For those unfamiliar, how would you describe THE GARDEN?
Lara Palmqvist: In both its subject matter and structure, THE GARDEN is interested in connection: our connections with one another, our connections with the environment, and the connections between our choices today and the world of our future. The work of agricultural science and stewardship is at the forefront of THE GARDEN. The script also traces the relationship between social and environmental justice, particularly the ways in which class divides are being exacerbated by climate change. In THE GARDEN, an aging landscaper and a wealthy socialite each pursue protection from environmental crisis—for one, northern farmland for his family; for the other, an oasis of beauty in refutation of reality. Yet both are forced into an ultimate reckoning that individual paradise in our interconnected world is impossible, and that mutual care and collaboration are instead essential to well-being.
THE GARDEN is set in a near-future world facing food insecurity and drought, informed by real climate models. Alongside an elegiac awareness of all that we stand to lose if we fail to protect our singular planet, THE GARDEN offers an invitation to experience reverence and hope for how we might yet achieve a more equitable and ecologically sound future.
S&F: Can you tell me about the genesis of this project?
LP: We like to talk about the seed of an idea, but in the case of THE GARDEN, the script was inspired by literal seeds. For over a decade I’ve lived in the rural Midwest, surrounded by farmland and its related industries. My first job involved working on a strawberry farm, and in college I collaborated with local farmers to study the relationship between crop production and pollinators. From this work I gained a grasp of the incredible care, labor, and history that abide behind any given cultivar of food. I also learned how – similar to animal extinctions we’re seeing across the globe due to climate change – crop species are rapidly dying out. Altogether, only fifty plant species provide ninety-five percent of the world’s caloric intake, making our global food supply profoundly vulnerable.
As drought, plant disease, flooding, and other threats to farmland are increasing, we’re gaining evidence that monocrops, with their limited genetic pool, pose grave risks for food security. Because we don’t fully know what challenges climate change might present to agriculture, it’s urgent to protect crop diversity to the best of our abilities. Simply put, the fate of humanity is inextricable from the fate of our food. A central message of seed science—that diversity is our greatest strength—has always been meaningful to me. I also appreciate how seeds can be preserved, passed down, and carry history. The seeds of the Cherokee Black bean, for example, date back to the 1800s and were carried across the Trail of Tears.
A metaphorical link can be traced between the preservation and passing on of seeds with considerations of what climatic conditions future generations will inherit based on our current actions. From that point of connection, THE GARDEN started to take shape as a story that celebrates agricultural stewardship while also acknowledging food insecurity and cultivation challenges caused by climate change and environmental stress.
S&F: When I learned you had a B.A. in biology, it made total sense, given the subject matter. You also have an M.Th in religion in peace and conflict – how does you graduate area of study show up in the script? What would you say to those who suggest science and religion are at odds?
LP: Earning a degree in theology invited me to study some of humanity’s oldest and most influential narratives, including the Garden of Eden, versions of which exist across spiritual traditions. In my script, I sought to draw links between notions of an originating garden, paradise found and lost, and a world fallen into ruin—specifically through climate change—to consider anew what this story might teach us about responsibility to the natural world. Turning to theology for inspiration has also encouraged me to write toward large and enduring questions: what it means to be human, what matters in a life and in a death, and how to talk about and live among mystery.
Science, too, is steeped in questions and a sense of wonder. I’ve long seen a symbiosis between science, religion, and art. All three fields are devoted to helping us better understand ourselves and the world. In many cases, they share an aim to perceive and interpret experiences that exist beyond our normal bounds of understanding. While science and religion of course differ in many ways, the standard stark binaries drawn between the two fields feel too hasty and even harmful. In the findings of science, religion can encounter data-driven cause for reverence, while science in turn can benefit from religious practices. For example, in a time when advancements such as AI and deep-sea mining are developing at a rapid pace, scientists might complement the real-world implications of their research with questions of ethics guided by spiritual traditions. I’m always eager to support initiatives and collaborations that model how science and religion can inform one another with respect and openness.
S&F: Are there filmmakers or specific works that inspired you writing this script, or in general?
LP: In writing THE GARDEN I kept several filmmakers close to heart and mind. Watching—and, crucially, reading—the work of Barry Jenkins has been pivotal to my development as a screenwriter. In Jenkins’s lyrical writing, particularly in MOONLIGHT, I found permission to lean into the poetic tone that shapes so much of THE GARDEN. From Jenkins’s adaptation of The Underground Railroad I also found a model of how the environment can be approached as a character in its own right, which spoke to my script’s shared aim to allow nature to take a role equal to the human experience. Bong Joon-ho’s PARASITE was an essential influence upon THE GARDEN’s depiction of the societal chasms that can exist between abundance and need. THE GARDEN was also shaped in important ways by the work of filmmaker and artist Dario Robleto (a fellow Sloan grantee, for his forthcoming book), who draws radiant intersections between art and science with a level of depth, research, and poetics that I find profoundly inspiring.
S&F: Tell us about the scientific research you did in developing the script. Were there any ‘aha’ moments that stuck with you or heavily influenced the script?
LP: THE GARDEN offers a fact-based representation of climate science in relation to our food systems. My research for the script ranged from conversations with experts, to studying resources from research institutions, to reading reference books and scientific journals. I also drew on experiences such as a research trip to the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway, which is a seed bank intended to safeguard our global crop diversity in the event of environmental disaster.
THE GARDEN intentionally moves between representations of land stewards and scientific researchers, portraying their roles in a shared pursuit of food security. The script depicts the intricacies of seed breeding and also seeks to refute misperceptions related to CRISPR genome-editing technology. At the same time, the storyline doesn’t overlook downsides to agricultural biotechnology, including the use of the cytotoxin disruptor gene—a real gene that causes plants to create sterile seed with no benefit beyond protecting agricultural patents.
Learning about such “suicide seeds” was a moment that really shaped the narrative arc of the script. I became deeply interested in the lengths to which some seed companies go to protect their proprietary cultivars. As a result, THE GARDEN grew increasingly invested in ethical considerations of what it means to monetize crops that might hold the solution to easing global hunger, especially as climate change continues to impact food security.
S&F: In March you had the opportunity to hear excerpts of your work performed by professional actors for the first time, what was that like for you and did it impact your subsequent revisions to the script?
LP: Hearing excerpts of THE GARDEN performed at First Look meant everything to me. It was incredible to watch the script’s characters come to life through the brilliant talent and artistry of the actors. So much of a writer’s life is spent alone in a room, and on our own we can’t always be sure how a particular line will land, or how the cadences between two characters will resound. To have THE GARDEN portrayed in a fully embodied format, by such a remarkable cast, was thrilling and informative. It was equally meaningful to sense the audience’s response to the excerpt and to meet with some of them after the reading to hear their reactions. The entire community of filmmakers at the First Look Festival offered me inspiration and motivation as I continued revisions on the script, including edits I made related to perspectives afforded to me by the professional reading. I couldn’t be more grateful to have had such an impactful learning opportunity and experience.
S&F: What’s the latest with THE GARDEN today? Are you working on other projects?
LP: I’m so fortunate to be working through revisions on THE GARDEN with my two Sloan-appointed mentors: the filmmaker Adriane McCray and the scientist Dr. Andrew Reid Bell, who specializes in human-environment interactions and community responses to climate change. To my knowledge, the Sloan Foundation is the only institution that connects filmmakers with both industry and scientific mentors for continued development. This opportunity precisely aligns with my goals, and the support I’ve received has been instrumental and life-altering. In addition to THE GARDEN, I’m also at work on my next feature-length screenplay, a novel, and a collection of short stories, all of which incorporate factual science. As a writer committed to bridging conventional divides between science and art, joining the Sloan Foundation community feels like nothing short of a homecoming. I can never overstate the vastness of my gratitude.
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