Anne Lewis and Mimi Pickering are producing a television history of social activist Anne Braden and the struggle for human rights in the American South. Anne Braden: Southern Patriot will be an inquiry into the extraordinary life of a largely unsung women activist, described as “one of the great figures of our time” by noted Southern historian Jacquelyn Dowd Hall. The documentary will follow this tiny woman as she organizes, teaches, attends rallies, remembers, and reflects on the history of the civil rights movement in Louisville, Kentucky, and throughout the South where she has been active during the last six decades. The program explores both the dangers of racism and political repression and the power of a life spent in commitment to social justice. Anne Braden passed away on March 6, 2006.
Electricity Fairy
"They flip the switch and the light comes on. Well, there’s not a magic electricity fairy; that electricity comes from a power plant that feeds on coal."
–Tom Mooney, former Kentucky Commissioner of Natural Resources
Coal produces more than half of the electricity for the United States, and the U.S. Department of Energy reports that West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky export both coal and electricity. Low-income and minority communities in these states bear most of the burdens associated with electricity production. The Electricity Fairy is a documentary film that employs visual puns to humorously address this serious issue.
The Electricity Fairy is in production. Filmmaker Tom Hansell spent last summer as an artist in residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, California. During his residency, Tom re-edited old educational films about electricity into loops that play on solar powered video displays.
The Electricity Fairy is scheduled for distribution in December 2006.
The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man and Buffalo Creek Revisited
The deadliest disaster in West Virginia history unfolded in 1972 when a coal waste dam failed, releasing a flood that killed 125. Appalshop’s 1975 film chronicled the disaster and the industrial practices behind it; the 1984 sequel documented the bumbling public response to the situation. Both films are being re-released on DVD.
Nimrod Workman: To Fit My Own Category and Passing Thru the Garden
Miner, ballad singer, union organizer, storyteller—Nimrod Workman was an inspiration to all who knew him, including the young folks who organized Appalshop. He was the subject of Tony Slone’s film To Fit My Own Category and the first June Appal LP (both 1975). Both these are being re-released in the digital format, with additional material from the Library of Congress and private collections.
I. D. Stamper, Red Wing
The mountain dulcimer found one of its most eloquent exponents in I.D. Stamper of Letcher County, Kentucky. His playing has a lonesome, rhythmic drive that few dulcimer players have achieved, intensified by the unique instruments he built and played. This recording will digitize I.D.’s 1977 LP.
County Judge
Robert Salyer is in the early production phase of a new documentary film, tentatively titled County Judge. This film will focus on the 2006 election for County Judge-Executive in Letcher County, Kentucky. While rural communities face far-reaching national and international issues, these often play out in the context of local politics that are deeply influenced by family ties, local issues, and sometimes rather colorful campaigns. The film will examine the history of county politics in the South, the role of the Democratic and Republican parties in the region, and the level of public awareness and involvement in the process. Salyer began shooting preliminary interviews and scenes in November and began full production in January 2006.
Addie Graham: Been a Long Time Traveling
This historic 1978 LP featured one of Kentucky’s most important traditional singers, whose style and repertoire capture important eras of Kentucky’s history. Mike Seeger, John McCutcheon, Alice Gerrard and Ginny Hawker are among the singers who perform Addie’s songs. This CD release will include additional material from the original master tapes.
Buell Kazee
As a young man in the 1920’s, Kentucky’s Buell Kazee recorded some 50 mountain songs which marked him as one of our most important traditional singers. June Appal’s 1978 LP documented his mature work. A CD re-release will include additional material from this important Kentucky artist.
Going Around This World: the Life and Music of Lily May Ledford
A companion to the June Appal CD Gems and the film Lily May Ledford, this 60-minute radio documentary traces the career of a Kentucky pioneer of country music from childhood in the Red River Gorge to prewar radio stardom to obscurity to a second career as a revered elder of the folk revival.
Thoughts in the Presence of Fear
Veteran filmmaker Herb.E. Smith’s latest work is based on Kentucky author Wendell Berry’s essay of the same name, written in response to the horrors of September 11, 2001. The film blends Berry’s reading from his work with music, artwork, text, and moving images.
Thousand Kites
In prison slang, to fly a kite is to send a message. Thousand Kites is a multi-year Roadside Theater – Holler to the Hood collaboration with those most affected by the U.S. prison industry: prisoners and prison employees, their families, and their respective communities. Based on the principles of cultural organizing, Kites’ purpose is to further a public conversation about how citizens can take responsibility for reducing crime.
To increase access to the prison story, in 2006 Roadside’s play creation and presentation process will be mirrored by H2H’s innovative use of digital and broadcast media. With Roadside's community story circle methodology interacting with H2H’s digital storytelling expertise, a Kites script will be developed over an eight-month period. The play will premiere in December 2006 in 15 prison communities. Three of the live performances will be audio recorded and mixed (sampled) in a studio with narration by a spoken-word artist. The resulting production then will be distributed to 150 community radio stations in a December holiday broadcast. The audio production will also be distributed on the World Wide Web.Morristown
“We don’t make anything in this country anymore. If they closed the ports, we’d be naked and barefoot.”
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Shirley Reinhardt, former GE worker, Morristown, Tn
Morristown looks at the connections between immigration and the global economy.
It allows workers -- Latino, white, and African American -- to tell us about their lives. In this way it puts a human face on systemic issues. Morristown gets inside the economy from tomato fields to chicken houses to auto factories. We see the inner workings of a local Chamber of Commerce, a temp agency, and a union organizing drive. It features communities in and around Morristown, Tennessee, a village in Guanajuato, Mexico, and two neighborhoods in Ciudad Juarez.
Morristown is hour length. It's been eight years in production. We've shot about a hundred hours and generated a popular education tool. It's human, personal, and accessible. The piece is about 1/3 Spanish and the rest English. It ends in hope. Last fall, largely undocumented Mexican immigrants, with the support of other union and community groups, organized a major chicken processing plant in Morristown. The vote was 465 for, 18 against -- and we watch it happen! We are currently screening a 66 minute rough cut and will complete the film this fall.
Elizabeth Barret and Judi Jennings have launched a new documentary on the photographic legacy of recently rediscovered American artist William Gedney (1932-1989). The digital video will examine the tradition of photography when Gedney was making his excursions to the Appalachian coalfield area during 1964 and 1972 as well as the political and social context of east Kentucky at that time. In addition, it will further interpret his work by exploring the artistic process through his notebook writing and book-making activities as well as the point of view of the extended family members who were photographed by Gedney.