Laura Harrisonsomehow found herself in West Virginia in 1996, directing her first documentary about Thurmond, the town used as a location for John Sayles 1987 epic, “Matewan.” At the time various interesting people including Katy Miller, a former WVLC department head, and the son of Hodding Carter were living in the tiny town. Every so often someone contacts me about acquiring the film and so….with a little Google searching I found out what Ms. Harrison has been doing since 1996….

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 Russ Barbour, star of Correct Change, in a fight at former Elk River Holiday Inn. Other locations also now gone - Southern Kitchen, Laidly Field.

Correct Change is available for sale at Frog Creek Books on DVD.

William Sloan of MOMA wrote this excellent review in summer 2002 after seeing “Correct Change”- (more…)

The winners of the 2007 WVFFF were NOT the ones I would have chosen, but I have to admit, I didn’t see all of the films. However, I do know that at least two films shown were masterpieces and should have received some awards. One very good WV film, “Coal Camp Memories” by Karen Vuranch, was not even shown. This year there were twice as many films in competition as before - which is a great sign of the robustness of WV filmmaking these days. Some thoughts….

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 WVPBS finally broadcast its documentary on the making of Luis Argeo’s “AsturianUS” on Thursday night, October 18th, as part of its “Outlook” show. It also broadcast the entire film at 10 PM. You can see the full story on the making of the film on You Tube -  http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22Luis+Argeo%22.

I still don’t know about access to the entire feature-length documentary. Hopefully copies will be placed in the WV State Archives and some of the local public libraries so future generations will be able to see it.

Luis  Argeo celebrated his 32 birthday on Saturday, May 12th, not in Madrid, Spain, but in South Charleston, WV. He had flown the day before from Madrid via Frankfurt to Charleston to introduce his new 52 minute film about the history of his fellow Asturians leaving northern Spain to move to West Virginia and Pennsylvania. As it turns out, he makes his living by writing travel books - and free-lance writing for newspapers in Madrid and Asturias.

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James White, the graphic designer for the WV Library Commission, asked me if I had seen this amazing posted video…..check it out………powerful……….Steve

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22Toxic+West+Virginia%22

Pare Lorentz is well known in the film world but not known in his native state of West Virginia. The International Documentary Association is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a Pare Lorentz Film Festival, showing some of his films and some of the winners of the Pare Lorentz Award.

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 Still from Kevin Carpenter’s One Earth - Mankutano on Kilimajaro which had its world premiere in Sutton. Daniel Boyd’s Mankutano is still in post-production.

Kevin Carpenter, the president and co-founder of the Sutton-based West Virginia Filmmakers Film Festival, told me that “it was the best festival to date. Everyone had fun and the films were the best so far…” ( I was busy with WV Music Hall of Fame Film Night, the WV Labor Hall of Honor ceremony and helping Ken Hechler with his books at the WV Book Festival.) Steve Gilliland received the award as 2007 West Virginia Filmmaker of the Year.

Ray Schmitt, 2004 WV Filmmaker of the Year,  was in attendance despite the super-tragedy of losing his wife and co-director Judy Lee Schmitt recently. (The festival was dedicated to her memory.) (more…)

Sandy Berman mailed me a copy of the Labor Heritage Foundation 2007 catalog. Inside are many, many great books, CDs, and films. There is finally a biographical film about Mother Jones made in 2007 called “Mother Jones: America’s Most Dangerous Woman.” Costing only $10, running 23 minutes, completed in 2007.  I think that the WV Labor History Assn. will have to show it sometime soon. (more…)

Ken Hechler attended the biennial meeting of an organization of White House speech writers called The Judson Welliver Society on Tuesday, October 16th, held at The Washington Post. He was the only one of three living members from the Truman White House and probably the oldest living attendee. He said it was a “magnificent experience.”

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Mike Vavrus from Moline, Illinois and his Charleston raised wife Libby Archibald making a rare visit.

Dr. Michael Vavrus and I came to WV at the same time - fall 1978. He was hired to teach at WV State College, I was hired to be the director of Film Services at WVLC. Eventually he would leave the Kanawha Valley, moving to Elkins where he founded the Elkins Film Group around 1981. He and other members regularly screened indie films, some from the WVLC collection, at the public library or at Davis & Elkins College. He finally had the world library premiere of “Matewan” in spring 1988 because the Matewan Public Library didn’t want to show it.

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