MOVIES SAVE MOUNTAINS” FILM FEST @ BELCOURT W/ KATHY MATTEA
May 12, 2010 by filmnashville
Filed under FilmNashville
Country Music’s Kathy Mattea and Author Silas House Present NRDC’s “Movies Save Mountains” Film Festival at the Belcourt Theater — Critically acclaimed films Coal Country and Deep Down anchor free evening of movies, music and discussion about mountaintop removal coal mining..
The devastation of mountaintop removal coal mining will be revealed in a free evening of film and discussion featuring country music artist Kathy Mattea and nationally best-selling author Silas House, and presented by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), on May 20 at the Belcourt Theater. The “Movies Save Mountains” film festival will center on two critically acclaimed documentaries, Coal Country and Deep Down, that focus on the fight against mountaintop removal. Following the films, the filmmakers and coalfield residents featured in the documentaries will join Mattea and House in a roundtable discussion.
“The films that will be shown at ‘Movies Save Mountains’ will help shed light on the devastating reality of mountaintop removal coal mining and the heartbreaking consequences for Appalachian communities,” said House, who was recently awarded the prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities Chair in Appalachian Studies at Berea College in Eastern Kentucky. “Those who come will learn about the monumental destruction caused by this extreme strip mining and we hope they will be inspired to take action to help end the tragedy of mountaintop removal.”
Today, the Appalachians are being ravaged by mountaintop removal, the most destructive form of coal mining ever devised. Coal companies are blowing up entire mountaintops to get at the thin seams of coal below. Already 500 peaks have been leveled, wide swaths of forests have been clear cut, miles of streams have been destroyed or polluted, and countless communities have been harmed.
Mattea is deeply concerned with the threat of violence as the conversation about Mountaintop Removal unfolds, and emphasizes that public awareness and education are critical if positive environmental change is to take place in the coalfields of her native West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, where she now resides.
“Since learning about Mountaintop Removal,” Mattea said, “I have felt an ache in the pit of my stomach, a deep yearning to advocate for the mountains and people I love so much. I have seen it firsthand. I have spoken with the people living in the shadows of these mine sites, and the miners who work them. We desperately need education, nonviolent conversation and strong leadership to find our way to a sane and sustainable solution to this terrible dilemma.”
Deep Down (www.deepdownfilm.org) is a one-hour documentary about friends and neighbors in the mountains of eastern Kentucky who find themselves on opposite sides of the global energy debate when a coal mining company attempts to operate a mountaintop removal mine in their backyards. Kentucky mountaintop removal activist Terry Ratliff, who appears in the film, will attend the event and participate in the roundtable discussion to close the evening
Coal Country (www.coalcountrythemovie.com) tells of the dramatic struggle around the use of coal as Appalachian miners and residents are locked in conflict: is mining and processing coal essential to providing good jobs, or is it destroying the land, water and air? Judy Bonds, an activist featured in Coal Country and recipient of the Emma Goldman Award for environmental activism, will also participate in the roundtable discussion following the films.
“Movies Save Mountains” begins at 6:30 on May 20. Tickets for the event are free of charge. To reserve tickets, go to savemountains.eventbrite.com or call the Belcourt Theater box office at (615) 383-9140 for additional information.
For more information on NRDC’s campaign to end mountaintop removal, visit: www.NoMoreMountaintopRemoval.org.
About the Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists nationwide, served from offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Beijing. For more information, go to www.nrdc.org.
