60m; U.S.
Director: Harold Meyer
Synopsis: This roaring railroad film (1968) reveals the incredible history of railroading from the 1830s until today. The Hell on Wheels towns, the Chinese and Irish immigrants building a railroad with their sweat and brawn but battling each other along the way, the robber barons and their union busting, Mr. Pullman and his Pullman car, the glitter of the “golden age”, Eugene V. Debs, the glory days of the passenger trains of the 1930s and 40s.
30m; U.S.
Director: Virginia Bendl Moore
Cast: Earl Ray Tomlin (Himself); Senator Jay Rockefeller (Himself); Gov. Manchin (Himself); Bill Raney (Himself- President of the WV Coal Association); Warren Hylton (Himself- President of Patents Coal); Larry Gibson (Himself); Ed Wiley (Himself); Maria Gunnoe (Himself); Lenny Kohn (Himself- reporter from Appalachian Voices); Sam Cook (Himself- Appalachian Studies Professor at Virginia Tech)
Synopsis: A student made documentary about the effects of mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia. West Virginia; Coal Mining; Mountaintop Removal Mining; Strip Mining
Contact: E-mail filmmaker at movingmountains@virginia.edu
91m; U.S.
Director: Stan Dragoti
Cast: Michael Keaton, Teri Garr and Fred Koehler
Synopsis (IMDB): Jack and Caroline are a couple making a decent living when Jack suddenly loses his job. They agree that he should stay at home and look after the house while Caroline works. It’s just that he’s never done it before, and really doesn’t have a clue.
99m; Peru
Director: Jason Burlage
Synopsis: Chronicles one year in a Peruvian farmer’s life and through a season of work on the Inca Trail. The film paints a vivid picture of this man’s world, of the conflict between his love of the land and the work he has learned from his father, and the desire to see his son living what he sees as a better life in the city.
Contact: Jason Burlage jason@michacrafilm.com http://www.michacrafilm.com/index.htm
80m; France
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Cast: Anna Karina, Sady Rebbot and André S. Labarthe
Synopsis: This film explores a Parisian woman’s descent into prostitution. The movie is comprised of a series of 12 “tableaux”– scenes which are basically unconnected episodes, each presented with a worded introduction.
105m; U.K.
Director: Ken Loach
Cast: Peter Mullan, Louise Goodall and Gary Lewis
Synopsis: Two thirtysomethings, unemployed former alcoholic Joe and community health worker Sarah, start a romantic relationship in the one of the toughest Glasgow neighbourhoods.
101m; Japan
Director: Shôhei Imamura
Cast: Hiroyuki Nagato, Kayo Matsuo and Takeshi Okimura
Synopsis (IMDB): Set during Japan’s depression years in the 50s, Nianchan (read: My Second Brother) tells the story about a family of 4 orphans, who are forced by circumstances to fend for themselves. Being in a mining town where the mining company is beginning to right-size its operations, jobs are getting scarce, and wages are getting lower with frequent cuts. Sticking together trying to find a way out of the vicious circle is close to impossible, and they realize that they have a better chance at carving a living if they split up.
60m; Poland
Director: Marek Lechki
Cast: Radoslaw Chrzescianski, Agnieszka Banach and Krzysztof Stroinski
Synopsis (IMDB): A slice of life in the mining/industrial region of Upper Silesia. Many mines and factories closed down in 1990s, resulting in high unemployment, economic depression, and general hopelessness. We follow 25-years-old unemployed Gozdzik who lives with his alcoholic father, his mother, always anxious about the future, and an assortment of neighbours. The gray monotony of daily life is broken by arrival of a long-absent uncle, a new girl staying with neighbours, and a tragedy involving Gozdzik’s best friend
90m; France
Director: Édouard Luntz
Cast: Gérard Zimmermann, Marise Maire and Eric Penet
Synopsis: Story of French juvenile delinquents after they leave a reformatory.
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