Films about West Virginia and AppalachiaBy Steve Fesenmaier(Links go to external sites and open in new windows. The Department of Arts, Culture and History has no control over the content of these sites.) A Moving Monument: The West Virginia State Capitol The West Virginia State Capitol literally floated down the Ohio River
from Wheeling to Charleston, moving back and forth several times, before
finally establishing itself at its current location on the shores of the
Great Kanawha River in Charleston. Diana Sole, producer and director of
several West Virginia historical documentaries, including films about
the Reverend Leon Sullivan, U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, and Supreme Court
Justice John Marshall, created this film to celebrate the 75th anniversary
of the building that was designed by Cass Gilbert and completed in 1932. The Road to Opportunity: 50th Anniversary of the West Virginia
Turnpike The West Virginia Turnpike is a busy four lane toll highway, 88 miles
in length, between Princeton and Charleston. Once derided as a "road
to nowhere," it has become a model for highway construction around
the country and the world, completing the link between the Great Lakes
and Florida. Vintage documentary footage of the construction and 1954
opening celebration of the turnpike are mixed with contemporary interviews
with state leaders, including U.S. Senators Byrd and Rockefeller, and
several West Virginia governors, including Okie Patterson, who was instrumental
in starting the project despite vast obstacles. Classic automobile commercials
from the 1950's add some context of the importance of this highway before
the Interstate system began. The film was produced by the West Virginia
Department of Transportation in association with the West Virginia Parkways,
Economic Development & Tourism Authority. Ken Hechler: In Pursuit of Justice As a U.S. Congressman, West Virginia Secretary of State, university
professor, author, and environmental activist, Ken Hechler changed the
face of West Virginia and national politics. [See “The Lonely Battle:
Ken Hechler’s 1958 Campaign,” by Gordon Simmons; Fall 2007.]
West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Russ Barbour and Chip Hancock
worked for several years, along with dean of Marshall University libraries
Barbara Winters, to produce the first comprehensive documentary about
one of the Mountain State's most influential citizens. Interviews with
colleagues, including George McGovern and Robert Dole, show Hechler’s
devotion to helping the common citizens of the state and country. Hillbilly: The Real Story This controversial documentary aired last year on the History Channel,
renamed from its original title, Appalachia: America’s First Frontier,
and with country music singer Billy Ray Cyrus added as narrator. Beyond
its inflammatory new title and stereotypical characterizations of moonshiners,
snake handlers, and gun-toting feudists, lie some interesting historical
insights. The two-hour film sheds new light on Revolutionary War battles,
railroads, mining, unionization, and dam building in the mountains. The
film has been criticized for what some see as its lack of depth and diversity,
but praised by others for taking this subject matter to a large national
audience. Fiddlin' Wayne Strawderman Wayne Strawderman of Hardy County has been entertaining folks with his
fiddle and mandolin playing for more than 50 years. This film tells about
his early life growing up in Mathias, the musical influences in his life,
and the "good-home fellowship" that characterizes him and his
music. The film contains archival photographs, excerpts of Wayne playing
fiddle tunes at the Lost River Museum and with his popular band the Trout
Pond Pickers, and commentary from his good friend and band mate Ralph
Hill. Icy Mountain: The Quirky Fiddling of Leland Hall Braxton County fiddler Leland Hall (1915-2003) might be an obscure player
to some fans of old-time music, but his unique style and personality place
him squarely in the middle of the Central West Virginia fiddling tradition.
As the subtitle of this film suggests, Leland’s music is a bit quirky,
which accounts for a lot of its appeal. This documentary was filmed on
location in 1995 and in 2000. It takes viewers inside Leland’s home
and introduces them to this soft-spoken man and his unusual style of solo
fiddling. The DVD bonus features include 10 of Leland’s tunes, played
at normal speed and digitally slowed down – at standard pitch –
for clarity or learning purposes. This fine film is another feather in
the cap of folklorist and award-winning filmmaker Gerald Milnes. Experience Fenton Established in 1905, the Fenton Art Glass Company has been producing
beautiful and collectible glass from its factory in Williamstown, Wood
County, for more than 100 years. [See “Fenton: A Century of Art
Glass in Williamstown,” by Dean Six; Summer 2008.] This promotional
film traces the company’s history and shows how many of its most
popular products are made. It emphasizes the relationship between the
Fenton management – still under family control – and the glass
workers who produce the products. Monongah Remembered The Monongah mine disaster took place in the small Harrison County town
outside Fairmont on December 6, 1907. Officials placed the number of fatalities
at 361, though later estimates were quite a bit higher, making Monongah
the most deadly mining disaster in U.S. history. [See “No Christmas
in Monongah: December 6, 1907,” by Eugene Wolfe; Winter 1999.] Most
of the victims were immigrant workers, many from Italy, who left farms
and families to pursue the American dream, only to wind up casualties
of the industrial revolution they helped to fuel. Pittsburgh filmmaker
Peter Argentine connects the impact of the Monongah disaster with its
eventual ramifications for governmental safety regulations. Using compelling
personal accounts, provocative archival photographs, impassioned interviews,
and meticulous research, this film weaves a tale of immigration, catastrophe,
and consequences, particularly relevant in light of recent mining disasters.
Burning the Future: Coal in America In the wake of the coal mining tragedies of 2006 and 2007 in West Virginia
and Utah, many Americans ask why we still mine coal. The reason is startling:
Each time a switch is flipped, we burn coal. According to estimates, 52%
of America’s electricity comes from coal, but at a shocking cost
to the environment and local communities. This new film from American
Coal Productions soberly illustrates the suffering of the residents of
West Virginia who struggle to preserve their mountains, their culture,
and their lives in the face of the omnipotent King Coal. Promoting energy
conservation and the development of alternative energy sources, the filmmakers
encourage consumers and suppliers to take an honest look at America’s
energy consumption and embrace change. Rise Up! West Virginia Award-winning filmmaker B.J. Gudmundsson goes on a personal journey from
her birthplace in Pocahontas County to the southern coalfields, where
she joins the Mountain Keepers, who have been fighting a 20-year battle
against mountaintop removal coal mining. Interviews include Maria Gunnoe
of Bob White, Larry Gibson of Kayford Mountain, Julian Martin and Robert
Gates of Charleston, and George Daugherty of Elkview, with music from
Agust Gudmundsson, T. Paige Dalporto, Jim Savarino, Buddy Griffin, and
others. A Flaming Rock: Coal! This pro-coal film, made by Enoch Hicks and Ellery E. Cadiz, looks at
the geology and history of coal, and traces mining methods from the earliest
hand-loading efforts to today’s mechanized techniques. It pays tribute
to the dedicated men and women who mine coal and describes their living
and working conditions through the years. In addition to its 15 chapters
of primary content, the DVD contains bonus features, including a history
of mine safety, a history of mining machinery, a simulated mine explosion,
and a virtual tour of the McDowell County town of War, home to filmmaker
Enoch Hicks, which is depicted as a typical mining community. Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America Mary Harris “Mother” Jones was a rabble-rouser and union
organizer like no other. She is remembered across the Mountain State for
her vigorous and flamboyant efforts to promote organized labor in the
coalfields between 1900 and her death in 1930. Filmmakers Rosemary Feurer
and Laura Vazquez, two professors at Northern Illinois University, directed
this first complete film about the life of the legendary agitator. The
23-minute documentary includes the only known film footage of her, speaking
on her "100th” birthday. Though some might question the accuracy
of her precise age on this occasion shortly before her death, few contest
her tenacity or dedication to “her boys” in the labor force
during the turbulent early years of the movement. The film won first place
in the Documentary division at the Geneva Cultural Arts Commission Film
Festival. Widen Film Project Many people in Clay County recall life in Widen, the famous company town
built by J.G. Bradley, who was a national and state coal mining leader
and who personally ran the town. In 2006, Charleston filmmaker Kelley
Thompson interviewed area residents, labor leaders, and historians about
the now-defunct town, its historic 1952 labor strike, the Buffalo Creek
& Gauley Railroad, and local sports. [See “Coach Bobby Stover:
The Making of a Clay County Legend,” by Kara Perdue Stover; Fall
2007.] This production was funded by the Central Appalachia Empowerment
Zone. The Last Ghost of War This film is about the long term effects of Agent Orange on the people
of Nitro who produced the chemical, the American and Vietnamese soldiers
who had direct contact with it, and the civilian population of Vietnam
who continue to have long term exposure. Many are plaintiffs in a class-action
lawsuit against 32 U.S. chemical companies. Attorneys, activists, scientists,
and military experts present the latest information on the on going disaster,
continuing 30 years after the end of the Vietnam War. Greg Harpold, a
South Charleston filmmaker, filmed local scenes and people. Back to the Bottle West Virginia filmmaker Francesca Karle made national news with her
first film about the homeless in Huntington, titled On the River's Edge,
made during high school as a Girl Scout project. [See “Films, Videos,
and DVD’s on West Virginia and Appalachia,” by Steve Fesenmaier;
Fall 2006.] Now a sophomore at Marshall University, she has returned to
the streets of Huntington to make a film about alcoholism. One of the
street people Karle portrayed in River’s Edge tells his own story
of how he became addicted to alcohol. Several local experts on the disease
are interviewed, and Hollywood actors Jamie Lee Curtis and Clint Howard
also appear. Trailer Trash: A Film Journal West Virginia native Don Diego Ramirez was raised near the race track
in Charles Town, Jefferson County. This autobiographical tale talks about
his life in a trailer home without electricity or running water, and how
he overcame his upbringing by studying art at Shepherd University. The
filmmaker has captured the raw emotions of his family in this disturbing
and compelling true-life tale, narrated by Ramirez. Home-movie footage
is woven together with candid digital interviews to create an extraordinary
personal statement about poverty, prejudice, and the harsh reality of
drug addiction in rural America. |