Films and Videos on West Virginia and AppalachiaBy Steve Fesenmaier
-30- – Cal Price and The Pocahontas Times Pocahontas County filmmaker and musician Bobbie Jo Sharp Gudmundsson
spent years making this portrait of Cal Price, the longtime editor of
The Pocahontas Times, thought to be the last handset newspaper in America.
Cal Price was pictured on the cover of our Summer 1990 issue. [See “The
Pocahontas Times,” by Gibbs Kinderman; Summer 1990.] With support
from the Pocahontas County Free Libraries and the Pocahontas Historical
Society, Gudmundsson uses the tale of this family-run newspaper to tell
the history of Marlinton and Pocahontas County. Price’s environmentalism
is highlighted, as Gifford Pinchot biographer Char Miller tells the history
of the conservation movement, which was interwoven with the political
landscape of that time. Family members and others who knew the “Sage
of Pocahontas,” such as National Geographic photographer Volkmar
Wentzel, provide insight into the man himself. The film also chronicles
how family members and employees sustained the newspaper following Price’s
death in 1957, surviving floods, skeptics, and rapid changes in the publishing
industry. Music is provided by John Lilly, Dwight Diller, and Oscar Brand. Cliff-Scaling Soldiers of West Virginia In 1943 and 1944, more than 50,000 U.S. soldiers came to Seneca Rocks
to train for mountain fighting in Italy, Europe, and the Pacific. Elkins
historian Robert Whetsell and filmmaker Gerald Milnes mark the 60th anniversary
of the event with a detailed documentary about these unusual military
maneuvers. With support from the West Virginia Humanities Council, the
Randolph County Historical Society, the Augusta Heritage Center of Davis
& Elkins College, and the U.S. Forest Service, the film includes rare
historical photographs, film footage, letters, and first-person accounts
from participants. Together, they tell how one of West Virginia’s
most rugged and scenic recreation areas was used to turn raw recruits
into hardened, combat-ready soldiers. The Fifth String Traditional mountain music is used as a metaphor for a wide range of
personal and cultural issues in this ambitious and highly entertaining
movie. Pocahontas County musician Dwight Diller and Clay County musician
John Morris play two brothers who love old time music but have a strained
relationship with each other. Diller, who plays the older brother, is
a professor of music and folklore who returns to Appalachia for the funeral
of the uncle who raised him. When he becomes trapped in the mountains,
he embarks on a confrontation with a past he has tried to forget. The
movie was filmed largely on location in Clay and Pocahontas counties and
addresses issues of identity and cultural preservation in a changing world.
Diller and Morris turn in convincing acting performances, and their strong
musical skills make this an enjoyable and thought-provoking film. The True Meaning of Pictures – Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia
Photographer Shelby Lee Adams was born in eastern Kentucky. He devoted
30 years of his life to visiting and making portraits of families living
in Appalachia, primarily those who are often misrepresented in the media,
derogatorily referred to as "hillbillies." This film, directed
by Canadian documentary filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal, delves into the controversy
that surrounds Adams' work, including hot debate among critics and revealing
commentary from his friends and photo subjects. “The True Meaning
of Pictures” makes us question the meaning of art itself. Along
the way, we get to know both Adams and the extraordinary people who stand
in front of his camera. Mine Wars Mingo County filmmaker Bill Richardson continues his investigation of
local and regional history with this look at the age of mine wars in southern
West Virginia and their influence on American life. Using rare historical
footage and letters written by participants, Richardson shows a positive
view of the labor struggle that took place here during the early 20th
century, explaining what happened at the Matewan Massacre, the Battle
of Blair Mountain, and elsewhere. Richardson interviews local experts,
including author Lon Savage, Dr. Fred Barkey, Dr. Ken Bailey, and labor
historian Dr. Ken Fones-Wolf, who describe these well-known events and
put them together to form a much larger picture. Mucked – Manmade Disasters: Flash Floods in the Coalfields Robert Gates has been making films about the effects of strip mining
since 1977 with his first film, "In Memory of the Land and People."
This new film shows the relationship between mountaintop removal coal
mining, steep-slope timbering, and the wave of major regional flash floods
that began on July 8, 2001, in several southern West Virginia counties.
According to the film, more than 380,000 acres of land have been mined
by this practice; valley fills have filled in 1,200 miles of streams;
and six major regional flash floods – and the Lyburn Disaster –
have resulted, with major impact on 47 communities, 12,000 homes and businesses,
an estimated $1 billion in damages, and a number of fatalities. The Biography of Gwen Clingman In 1945, Gwen Clingman and her husband Garland opened a small kitchen
and began serving lunches in downtown Lewisburg. Gwen’s Kitchen
became a local institution, as did its spunky proprietor. The film tells
the passionate story of this remarkable woman, whose philosophy was, “Everyone
should be able to afford at least one decent meal a day.” Gwen was
the focus of a GOLDENSEAL story in our Spring 1999 issue, titled “Clingman’s
Market,” by Belinda Anderson. Gwen Clingman passed away in 2003,
just after filming for this project was completed. A. James Manchin – The Final Accounting Former Secretary of State A. James Manchin was forced to resign as West
Virginia State Treasurer in 1998 after his office reportedly lost hundreds
of millions of dollars. Manchin recently passed away, and the public response
to the loss of this controversial and charismatic public figure was overwhelming.
Manchin was famous for fighting outsider stereotypes of his beloved West
Virginia, even traveling to New York City to protest. This is filmmaker
John Nakashima’s second portrait of one of our state’s most
colorful and debated politicians. His earlier film, made in 1988, was
titled “A. James Manchin – Your Public Servant.” John Marshall – Citizen, Statesman, Jurist Marshall University and the West Virginia Humanities Council produced
this film about the life of one of America’s greatest chief Supreme
Court justices and the namesake of Marshall University. The film presents
Marshall’s life from his early days on the Virginia frontier to
his death in Philadelphia in 1835 when the Liberty Bell cracked, ringing
for the last time. Historians and descendants discuss the importance of
Marshall’s life work as the nation’s longest-serving chief
justice, emphasizing that it was he who made the court the equal to the
other two branches of the federal government. Whispers from Space This documentary looks at UFO lore and self-styled “ufologist”
Gray Barker from Clarksburg. [See “Gray Barker: West Virginia Ufologist,”
by Matthew Mullins; Fall 2002.] Barker was an active writer, publisher,
and researcher, who reportedly not only didn't believe in Unidentified
Flying Objects himself, but may have perpetrated a UFO-related hoax or
two himself. Photo stills, home movies, location shooting, and interviewees
– ranging from Parker's surviving relatives to business associates,
amateur sleuths, and a local folklorist – offer insight into the
man from rural West Virginia who specialized in the flying saucer trade.
Ralph Coon, a director of music videos from Los Angeles, came to West
Virginia to make this documentary. The Captives Roane County teacher Judy Miller tells the famous story of pioneer settler
Mary Draper Ingles, who is captured, survives, and finally escapes her
Indian captors and travels on foot through the wilderness back to her
home in eastern Virginia. Miller wrote, produced and co-directed the film,
which had its world premiere at the Robey Theater in Spencer, the oldest
continuous movie theater in the U.S. The Righteous Remnant: Jewish Survival in Appalachia
Maryanne Reed, who grew up in Beckley, directed this award-winning film
about growing up Jewish in a small Appalachian town. This film examines
the history and present-day concerns of the small Jewish community in
Beckley. When the West Virginia coal industry was booming, Jewish people
came to the area and established businesses that supported the coal-based
economy. When the coal industry suffered decline in the late 1950's and
'60's, many Jewish families, along with their Gentile neighbors, left
the state for economic opportunities in other parts of the country. Typically,
young adult Jews did not return, in part for economic reasons, but also
because of the cultural challenges they encountered as a matter of course
in the mountains. As a result, Jewish populations in the southern and
eastern counties declined dramatically after 1960. Struggling to Survive Three high school students in Letcher County, Kentucky, made this film
in the summer of 2003 as part of the Appalachian Media Institute at Appalshop.
Inspired by a county initiative to raise the local minimum wage to $7.75
a hour, the students interviewed elected officials and wage-earners to
produce an inspired portrait of grassroots politics, hard economics, and
survival. The resulting film won a national award for youth media. Leo Herron – Augusta Master Series Barbour County musician ”Fiddlin’ Leo” Herron made
his mark in West Virginia’s early country music radio days during
the 1930's and ‘40's, playing fiddle and guitar in various bands
over WMMN radio in Fairmont. [See “‘Seventh Heaven’:
Saturday Night at the Sagebrush Round-up,” by Carl E. Feather; Winter
2004.] In the 1990’s, Leo re-emerged at the Augusta Heritage Center’s
annual Fiddlers Reunion at Davis & Elkins College, delighting participants
and impressing other musicians with his considerable talent. Augusta filmmaker
Gerald Milnes recorded a performance by Leo in 1997, which stands as the
only known visual documentation of Herron’s music. That performance
now is available on this new DVD, along with rare audio recordings, historical
photographs, biographical information, and three of Herron’s tunes
played by apprentice fiddler Chris Haddox. Many of these films and videos are available at local libraries or through the West Virginia Library Commission; phone (304)558-3978. A complete list is posted on-line at www.ferrum.edu/applit/bibs/WVFilmIndex.htm. |