Overburden / Milesfrommaybe Productions presents ; in partnership with StoryMineMedia ; a film by Chad A. Stevens ; directed by Chad A. Stevens ; produced by Catherine Orr, Elena Rue.
Edition:
Widescreen.
Publisher:
Collective Eye Films,
Copyright Date:
2015
Description:
1 videodisc (66 min.) : sound, color with black and white sequences ; 4 3/4 in.
Wide screen. Featuring: Lorelei Scarbro, Betty Harrah, Rory McImoil, Bill Price, Nichole Meadows, Kevin Meadows, Madison Meadows, Levi Meadows.
Contents:
Overburden: The birth of Levi -- Betty and coal -- Winds of change -- Coal's stranglehold -- A mountain under threat -- Why she does it -- The fight -- Everything changes -- Going after Big Coal -- Home -- Snowfall -- Indictment. Lyrical mountain film : a visual meditation on the beatuy of the Appalachian Mountains / Leveling Appalachia : the legacy of mountaintop removal : full version / with music by Zoe Keating (5:00 min.) Leveling Appalachia : the legacy of mountaintop removal : short version -- In Coal country : a community fights for wind [excerpt of Overburden] (7:45 min.) -- Lyrical mountain film : a visual meditation on the beatuy of the Appalachian Mountains / with music by Zoe Keating (5:00 min.) Bonus features: National geographic magazine feature video "In Coal country : a community fights for wind (7:45) -- Leveling Appalachia : the legacy of mountaintop removal : full version (20:07) and short version (3:45) -- Lyrical mountain film : a visual meditation on the beatuy of the Appalachian Mountains, with music by Zoe Keating (5:00) -- Bonus trailers.
Summary:
Overburden: The gas that caused the explosion was completely invisible. On April 5, 2010 the men working at the Upper Big Branch mine were doing what they always do, mining coal. But when a spark ignited the methane, a fireball ripped through miles of underground tunnels killing everything it touched, including 29 men. After the explosion ambulances raced by Betty Harrah's home. An hour later Betty, a fierce supporter of the coal industry, answered the phone, and as the voice revealed that her brother, Stevie, had died with 28 other men in the largest mining disaster in 40 years, her life changed forever. Yes, as Betty says, "coal is life here," but, she continues, "Massey Energy murdered my brother." It's not easy to take sides when the only option for a decent wage means putting your life, your home and your community at risk. Lorelei Scarbro knows this better than anyone. Her husband died of Black Lung, and Massey, the fourth largest coal company in the U.S., just announced plans to begin a 6000-acre mining project behind her home. In 2007 Lorelei spoke out for the first time at a public hearing. "This isn't coal mining," she yelled. "This is the rape of Appalachia!" Overburden is the story of a fiery, pro-coal right-winger and a tenacious, environmentalist grandmother as they take on the most dangerous coal company in America. These two lives intertwine as Betty and Lorelei unite to launch the first wind farm in coal country and to rebuild their fractured community. Decades after Barbara Kopple filmed Harlan County, USA, the coal industry is now facing extinction, and with an increase in alternative energy and the work of these two courageous women, the epicenter of change may just come from the most unexpected place, the ridges of the Appalachian Mountains. Leveling Appalachia: A video report focusing on the environmental and social impacts of mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia and examines the long-term effects on the region's forests and waterways.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.