Recent hit documentaries like “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” and “Tarnation” show the value of documenting one’s life. If there as anyone I have known who has done that, it’s Ken Hechler whose archives are stored at the Marshall University Library Archive.
Catherine Pancake received the 2007 Jack Spadaro Award at the 2007 Appalachian Studies Conference recently. “Black Diamonds” had earlier won a Paul Robeson Award in Baltimore where she now lives.
“Black Diamonds” had its world premiere at The South Charleston Museum on March 11th, 2006. A large audience attended the event including Ken Hechler who was interviewed for the film.
WVSU film prof Daniel Boyd has shown that he is serious about his second profession as a local wrestler. If you enjoyed his earlier film, or more exactly, a film ABOUT Boyd’s wrestling career, “In the Ringer,” you will greatly enjoy his fall 2006 DVD, “September to Dismember.”
The double DVD-set contains Professor Danger (Boyd) and Death Falcon as “The Grapes of Wrath” taking on the local tag-team, Mr. Black and the Scufflin’ Hillbilly.
Someone has told me that Professor Danger has moved on to rodeo….Nothing like exercising your body as well as your mind - just like Dr. Robin Boyd does with her mountain biking.
Richard Bartram is a well-known Huntington expert on magic, illustrating several books on the subject. He also is the programmer for Huntington’s cable access station. In April, he will be cablecasting the first indie feature film made in Huntington, “Teenage Strangler”(1964). I programmed the WV premiere on Halloween 1990 at St. Albans Public Library. Some cast members attended. Finally, in 1994 the film was first shown in Huntington at the Keith-Albee Theater with lots of people there. The film was locally first discovered by Mike Fenimore, a local radio disc jockey who told me about the film coming out on VHS from Something Weird Video of Seattle. There are lots of web resources about the film, like this and this. It has become a cult classic, and was released on DVD several years ago.
Richard interviewed Mike Lipton (who wrote a great Gazette story on the film) and me at theWV Library Commission. I talked about why it was banned in Huntington - probably because of who the real teenage strangler was. Richard pointed out that some contemporary themes are in the film, e.g., teachers being caught having sex with students.
I programmed a local showing of the film in 2004 at The South Charleston Museum. Let’s hope supporters of WV filmmaking will see the film, one way or the other. Pam Haynes, director of the WV Film Office, has an original poster for the film in her South Charleston office.
Editor John Lilly just released the Spring 2007 Goldenseal with a great cover story by Anna Sale on “Women Coal Miners.” Inside there is a nice story by Paul Gartner on Harold Hayslett. The acclaimed instrument maker was honored last winter at The South Charleston Museum with a reception, complete with many of WV’s finest musicians playing his instruments and a showing of Robert Gates’ film about him, “Building a Cello with Harold.” On page 52, is a sidebar about the film, available for loan from WVLC and for rental from The Cinema Guild. On the last page, Page 72, there is a nice article on Karen Vuranch’s just released film version of her great one-woman play, “Coal Camp Memories.”
Look for my 2007 list of “New Films on West Virginia and Appalachia” in a coming issue.
West Virginia is more popular in the movie world now more than ever, especially in the world of documentary films. The best single place I know to find out where these films are being shown around the state and region is the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition’s events webpage.
“In Memory of the Land and People” was released on 16 mm film in 1977 by Robert (Bob) Gates, a former Union Carbide engineer who became WV’s leading independent filmmaker. Since Norman Fagan refused to show it as part of the WV Juried Arts Exhibition in fall 1978, I came in to The Cultural Center and screened it downstairs. The rest is history.
2007 83 mins. Real Earth Productions
The Schmitts have created a rare cinematic masterpiece that I will never forget. Judy and Ray Schmitt have been making films since 1975, creating more than 30 films. Many of their films have been profiles of WV’s leading artists including Abby Wathen, an actress and model from Huntington now living in Los Angeles; Ai Qiu Hopen, a bronze sculptor who lives in Sutton and Shanghai, China; actor/director Jim Walker of Sutton’s Landmark Studio; Lucien “Lulu” Ferrenbach, a French born ornamental iron sculptor now living in Lost River, WV; The Tusing Sisters of Hardy County, famous for their weaving and spinning; Robert Singleton, a world-famous painter now living in the Eastern panhandle; Jim Clark of War, McDowell County who is a leading landscape photographer; Artist Tom Pumroy from Paw Paw who is a multi-talented artist; and national artists Adriana Miller, a Middle Eastern dancer who was well-known in Washington, D.C. and Rita Dove, seventh Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress.
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