WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

In 2015, Peripheral Vision PDX released our first full-length documentary, HOLLA: Challenging the Narrative for Kids of Color in America's Whitest City. The film went on to transform HOLLA’s work in schools, and eventually open their own.

At the center of this story was father-daughter duo Mya Hudson and David Fielding. Now, nearly a decade later, we set out to discover where they are now, and how the experience of the documentary continues to impact their lives.

Mya Hudson

“Basketball truly saved my life.” 

For Mya Hudson, being a part of HOLLA and the experience of being in the film was the starting point of a full-time Hollywood career, including working on set with artists such as Beyoncé, J.Lo, Christina Aguilera, YG and Tyga. 

“I want people to hear my story or see what I’ve gone through, and see the journey,” she says. “I think the journey’s the best part. I’m not ashamed of what I’ve gone through and mistakes that I’ve made. 

“I’ve had so many people along the way help me, and I’m eternally grateful. I definitely did not do it on my own.”

At fifteen, Mya traveled to Los Angeles to study acting for a summer at Columbia College in Hollywood. She returned to LA after graduation, where she studied political science before pursuing her acting dream head-on. After years of doing odd jobs such as being a waiter and selling solar panels, finally in 2022 her new roommate offered her a role as a production assistant on set, and she quickly learned the ropes and began taking on more responsibility. Now, she works as production manager (which she describes as “the accountant on set”) and art director (“the interior designer on set”) for many different productions, as well as acting in genres from horror to sci-fi. You can check out her website and Instagram to see some samples of her work, her stage name is Kaikane - Hawaiian for strong sea. 

When asked about her experience in the HOLLA documentary, Mya laughed. “I'm not very shy, so I had a great time!” she said. The experience further solidified for her that storytelling on-camera was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Soon after, she began getting involved in theater as well as basketball, because in both, “I felt seen.” 

“In theater, I could do these really dark pieces and people were applauding, and really I was talking from my own experiences, but no one had to know that. It became an amazing outlet for me.”

Although her life has not been easy, Mya credits the HOLLA players, coaches, and mentors for being there when she needed someone most. “Basketball was a light, and I clung to it,” she said. In fact, it was through HOLLA that she was able to leave her abusive home environment (her father David, interviewed below, did not reside) - at first through the “escape” of games in evenings and weekends, and eventually for good. 

“In high school, I remember being chronically depressed, going to a therapist, and asking ‘How is this worth it?’ They would say, ‘It’s going to get better, you’ll get through it.’ And I would be like, ‘But why?’ I would get better, then I’d get hurt again, and I thought, ‘This has to mean something.’ If I’m going to go through all this pain and suffering, it has to move my life forward somehow. Otherwise, why did I have to go through so much?

“Because of my life and so many homes I’ve lived in and people I’ve dealt with, I feel like I have an arsenal of different perspectives. In acting, I get to utilize what I went through, and that makes it worth it. It didn’t go to waste.”

It wasn’t until she moved out to LA on her own that she reconnected after several years with her dad, David Fielding, who was also featured in the HOLLA documentary.  “Now we have a good relationship, I think we had to accept the fact that we’ll never have a typical father/daughter relationship because he just wasn’t there, and I did a lot of growing up without him,” Mya reflected. But she’s grateful for their relationship together, learning to “see each other as two adults and connecting like that.” 

Earlier this month, Mya was signed to a new acting management company, and is excited about where the next few years will take her. 

“What I love about my LA life is that I’m so open to any opportunity and I will say no to very few things. I had no dreams to be on my computer on spreadsheets as a production manager, but someone said, ‘I think you'll be good at it, let’s give it a shot.’ And I found joy in it. 

“I love that I know where I want to go,” she says, “but I have no idea about the journey: who I’m going to be, and what I’m going to do. That excites me.

“I’ve also learned the past few years how important community is. I felt for a long time that I was on my own, that I had no one that I was able to call. But now, I feel so at ease, because I know I have friends and family, and it’s vital to living a fulfilling life.” 

David Fielding

Mya’s father, David Fielding, has been on his own journey since the film’s release. He credits HOLLA basketball as a platform of connection that was instrumental in rebuilding his and Mya’s relationship after he was released from prison when she was ten and a half.

“I played a lot of basketball as a kid, and played high school ball, and so that provided a place for restarting our relationship,” he reflected. “I call those the building years.” 

Since the film, David has graduated from Multnomah University with a Bachelors in Pastoral Ministry and Theological Studies. He has worked at Lake Bible Church in Lake Oswego for twelve years, and currently serves as their Pastor of Connections, which includes young adult ministry and adult Bible classes and formation. Seven years ago he married his wife Wendy, and they now have a blended family of seven. 

“It’s not Cinderella, it’s real life, but it’s genuinely good,” David reflects. He is incredibly grateful to have a good relationship with Mya after all they have gone through. “Now we’ve built enough, we’ve gone through enough, she always knows I love her and have fought for her,” he says. “She was always my top priority.” 

He’s incredibly proud of her accomplishments and seeing her be successful at her dreams.  “She’s really impressed me as a young woman with her perseverance and her intentional pursuit of acting and modeling, managing her different endeavors, pretty hard stuff,” he says.

“I’m proud of her and of course delighted. I always knew she would be successful, but I wondered if the relational dynamic would be healed. That was even more important to me than how she did economically. But now they're coming together and I can be at peace.”

When asked about his experience in the documentary, David laughed. “I was so focused on Mya and her experience,” he says. “But my experience was good too.” He chuckled remembering a few times he turned around to find a camera unexpectedly in his face, but has fond memories of the process. “Through the film, I could see the threads of healing,” he says. “And yet it was real life - not just the glory of a winner’s story.”

Looking back on those years, David says he’s grateful for the perspective he’s gained. “Those were some hard years and some years that were also filled with hope, but the hope wasn't actualized until many years later,” he reflected. “I’m especially talking about the hope of Mya and I’s reconciliation.” 

“My girl, who I love very much and who I fought for, and she fought for me in her own way -  we’re together. It’s one of the greatest things in my life. People talk about things like hard work and perseverance. It seems cliche, but when you live it, you realize that it’s easy to want to quit, or wonder whether your effort is making an impact. 

“When I get into challenges, I look back to that time with Mya and I and where we are now as one of the lessons that the Lord has given me to realize that it’s worth it. At the end of the day, we’re not guaranteed a result for loving someone. But it’s always worth it. Because the alternative is hardness of heart. Genuinely open hearted loving, even if it hurts - that’s something that will be with me for the rest of my life. It will inform how I serve and encourage others in their journey. 

“I’m so proud to be her dad. She’s been a gift.”

HOLLA: WHere are they now?

After the film’s release, HOLLA mentors went from working in one school to an exponential seventeen! Several years later, they opened their own public charter school sponsored by Reynolds School District. HOLLA School is a tuition-free school of choice for K-2nd grade students whose mission is to change the academic narratives of Black, Brown and Indigenous youth and their belief is that there is abundance, brilliance and creativity in every child. In addition to mentoring students in middle and high school throughout the Portland area, HOLLA now has a scholar program, which engages with 1st generation college students. Learn more at www.hollamentors.org!