REMOTE ACCESS: Distant Libraries of the World.

24 mins. 2005    During the last 29 years I have tried to watch every film made by anyone promoting the use of libraries. I have screened them at our state library conferences, and even helped make the single most interesting film I have ever seen about libraries, Julian Samuel’s “Save and Burn.” (He has made two films on libraries – “Burn” and an earlier one, “The Library in Crisis,” both available from Filmakers Library.) The San Francisco Public Library has asked me to find “Toute la mémoire du monde” (All the Memory of the world,1956),”  an amazing film about the Bibliotheque Nationale made by Alain Renais and I once hoped to screen a series of films at The New York Public Library Donnell Library made by librarian filmmakers. (Plans fell through a year or so ago…..I am not sure why…..)  (more…)

 My picture of Ann Seidl talking to Merle Moore at the WVLA library conference at Stonewall Resort several years ago

Ann Seidl is now the world’s most famous librarian-turned-filmmaker, completing the feature length documentary, “Hollywood Librarian.”  She has been on a year’s  long odyssey to fashion this film about the stereotype of librarians in Hollywood movies - and the reality of fighting for survival in the 21st century. Doing years of research, fund-raising all over the country, she has created a document that is required viewing not only for every librarian in the world, but everyone in the world who supports librarians.

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Wess Harris, William C. Blizzard, and Steve Fesenmaier celebrating Bill’s 90th birthday in Ripley, WV in 2006.

Appalachia: America’s First Frontier is the name of the two-hour documentary produced for the History Channel that will air on August 26 from 8 pm- 10 PM according to Wess Harris, the publisher of the landmark book, “When Miners March” by William C. Blizzard. Blizzard’s interview that took place at the UMWA District 17 headquarters in Charleston will be included along with more on The Battle of Blair Mountain. Ross Ballard, the creator of the audio movie of Blizzard’s book, worked with the producers when they toured WV - as did Wess Harris.

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 Dr. Fred Barkey giving Catherine Pancake the keys to the city of South Charleston at the world premiere on March 11th, 2006.

Black Diamonds by Catherine Pancake of Romney, WV is still being shown around the state and country. After its world premiere at the South Charleston Museum in spring 2006, it has won several major awards and been shown many places. If you want to see where showing will be, check this website - http://www.blackdiamondsmovie.com/upcomingshows.html. You can also contact Bullfrog Films which is the educational distributor for the film.

The cover of the videotape version of “Amy”

Margaret Prescott Montague Greenbrier County native [pseudonym Jane Steger] (1878-1955) is WV’s most filmed novelist with at least five film versions of her work. She won the First O. Henry Award in 1919 for her story “England to America,” which was published in The Atlantic Monthly, September 1918. Her “The Sowing of Alderson Cree” was made into the film Seeds of Vengeance in 1920. A film with the same name was also made of her book Uncle Sam of Freedom Ridge, also in 1920. In 1922 a film, Calvert’s Valley, was made from her book, In Calvert’s Valley. In 1929 a film called “Linda” based on her 1912 novel. Her collection of short stories, Closed Doors (1915) was based on seven teachers and children she met while she visited her brother, R. Cary Montague, who was the director of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind. The film version, “Amy”(1981, 100 minutes) was produced by the Walt Disney Company The film is about a woman leaving her wealthy husband to teach at the WV School for the Blind & Deaf. The director, Vincent McEveety, directed many of the original Star Trek episodes on TV and in the nineties directed Columbo episodes. This film was originally made for TV and called Amy on the Lips. Distribution – available at www.half.com. She is listed on the WV Literary Map. (more…)

Wrong Turn made the front page news in WV in 2003 when it was released because of its supposed “negative stereotypes” of West Virginians. Reporters called me - and I asked another question - “How do you think the people of Texas think when they see the many versions of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” or NYC people think of all the crime/murder TV shows and movies set there? Now Wrong Turn 2 is being released on DVD with Henry Rollins starring.

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Appalshop is one of the world’s leading regional media arts center, located in Whitesburg, Ky. They have been producing films, music, and lots more for decades. Everyone in Appalachia should see their great films and learn about what they have been doing - for people in WV and all of the region. I have visited them once, and they have visited Charleston many times. Mimi Pickering was almost a resident , making her film “Chemical Valley” about the WV links to the Bhopal Disaster several years ago. Many Appalshop films have been made in WV, most famously Pickering’s two films on the Buffalo Creek Disaster.  Here is their press release about their two new leaders.

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Bill Richardson joins other great filmmakers like David Lynch and many others in expanding their range of creative activity outside of film. Richardson is best known for his monumental film, “Mine War”(2004) about the Southern WV coal mine wars. He earlier had directed “Feud,” the best film ever made on the Hatfields and McCoys, and worked on Daniel Boyd’s film, “Smilin Sid.” Most recently he created a feature film using re-edited Flash Gordon footage that he called “Crash Gordon.” The film had its world premiere at the WV Intl. Film Festival in Charleston. Since then he has been recoving from a serious illness, and expanding into digital artworks.

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Ken Hechler showed me the recent “Marshall Magazine” which had a story about his first days teaching at Marshall College in 1957. Inside the mag was a full-page ad for a special version of “We Are Marshall” that includes a 140 page magazine about the making of the film. The first 500 orders will receive a signed copy of the magazine by Jack Lengyel, Red Dawson or Reggie Oliver.  It will arrive at your home on September 18th. It costs $45.95 with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit the construction of a new Marshall alumni building. Call 1-800-MUALUMX or visit their website at www.marshall.edu/alumni.

Beth Vorhees interviewing Luis Argeo in front of the La Belle Theater before its US premiere in May. WVPBS had already done one story since Chip Hitchock and other WVPBS staff worked on the film.

WVPBS’ weekly news magazine Outlook will be returning according to a published article in today’s Gazette. As I wrote on this blog earlier, it was canceled - and I wondered why? It’s their only regular WV news show, and it has run many great stories during the last few years including Russ Barbour’s great story on Robert Shogun visiting Blair Mountain for the first time after writing his book, “The Battle of Blair Mountain,” and airing Anna Sale’s great film about Don Blankenship, “The Kingmaker.”

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