Few people in West Virginia know the man who directed the most important film ever made about the state but almost everyone knows the name of the film, “West Virginia - A Film History.” This is most unfortunate because Mark Samels, the writer, producer and director of the four-part series, has become one of the leaders of documentary filmmaking in the world. Few people know that a man who came to WV in 1985 to work at Morgantown WVPBS, spending 11 years here, producing two landmark earlier series, received the work experience he would need to lead the most watched history series on American television, The American Experience. Hopefully, with the release of the DVD version of “West Virginia - A Film History,” more West Virginians and people around the country and world will know about the amazing filmmaker, Mark Samels. (more…)

John Nakashima, Chip Hitchcock and Tom Nicholson directed three different films about West Virginia that were packaged as “Mountaineer Circles.” The three films are - “Mountaineer,” “Farmer” and “Gilligan’s Appalachia.” The WV Humanities Council produced these films at the same time that they released the VHS of “West Virginia - A Film History” in 1995. Like “WV,” a classroom version was sent on VHS to every public library and school in the state. I wish someone would broadcast these films again, and release them on DVD.

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There will be a public preview of Brittany Huckabee’s film, “The Mosque in Morgantown,” on June 10th, 7 PM, at the Metropolitan Theater in Morgantown. The film will be broadcast by PBS five days latter nationally. Ms. Huckabee will introduce the film. Maryanne Reed, dean of the WVU School of Journalism, will moderate an interfaith panel discussion on issues facing local religious communities afterwards. I reviewed the film and found it to be very wellmade. Hopefully, everyone in WV will get to see the award-winning film.

The classroom edition of “West Virginia - A Film History”

WVPBS has announced in its Pubcaster June 2009 magazine that it will be broadcasting the four-parts of WV’s own monumental film history, “West Virginia - A Film History” starting on Sunday, May 31 at 8 PM, continuing on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The WV Humanities Council will be releasing the DVD finally on June 20th, WV Day. The cost is $29.95 plus $3 shipping, available from them and  in retail stores. (304) 346-8500.
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Paul Steinhardt is the Albert Einstein Professor of Physics at Princeton University. He will be one of the many people interviewed in a future feature documentary by B.J. Gudmundsson about the Green Bank Radio Telescope. The film will have three parts - one on the National Science Camp, another on the people of Pocahontas County and how they relate to the Big Science workers and technology plunked down in their midst, and a part about the importance of the science being done at Green Bank.

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 Chip Hitchcock in action filmmaking

Chip Hitchcock is one of the state’s most active filmmakers, working on both WVPBS projects and many others including Mike Lilly’s landmark indie feature, “Correct Change.”(2002) Most recently, WVPBS aired his “Bridgeport to Baghdad” documentary about WV military traveling from their homes in WV to Iraq. One of his many other projects includes a film version of Davis Grubb’s story (posted) “The Man Who Stole the Moon.” ( Interesting article about Grubb’s “weird” stories.)

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Julian Semilian, a film professor at the UNC School of the Arts, and my oldest filmmaker friend as I have written recently, has applied the full-force of his expansive intellect to creating an amazing surrealistic film that he calls “devotees of the precipitate.” The film had its premiere recently at the School in April 2009 at The School. Semilian was given a leave of absence to work on the film, traveling to London to meet with the Brothers Quay, and travel to Prague to film images provided by Jan Svankmajer, a hero to the Brothers Quay and anyone in the world who loves creative animated films.

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 Sarah Ogan Gunning with Pete Seeger, 1964 Newport Folk Festival. Posted here.

Dr. Fred Barkey and I were discussing how much we enjoyed the musical performance of Elaine Purkey before the 2009 WV Labor Film Night. We were also discussing a film that we saw many years ago by Mimi Pickering about Sarah Ogan Gunning called “Dreadful Memories.” Both of us consider it to be one of the very best films we have ever seen about any singer. It truly put tears in our eyes, just as Mrs. Purkey’s last song, Hazel Dicken’s “Black Lung” did last Saturday night.

 Cover photo of the Foggy Bottom album cover

Ray Schmitt probably loves music even more than he loves films. Annually, he holds his own annual Octoberfest musical celebration on his farm in Mathias, Hardy County, and really loves to make films about musicians. For many years he played in a blue grass band in the Washington, DC. area when he worked at The Library of Congress - Congressional Research Service. Below is some info he e-mailed me about his days in Foggy Bottom plus a clip of his coming film about the Blue Moon Cowgirls.

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Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass, located in Kanawha City, Charleston, West Virginia was the largest sheet glass factory in the world. Between 1916 and 1980, tens of thousands of people worked at the plant which operated 24 hours/day. In 1982, the huge plant was demolished including its 12 tall chimneys. ( Radford was told by demolition experts that this was a world record - 12 at one time. Robert Gates made an experimental film about the demolition called “Eulogy for Twelve Tall Stacks.” It is truly a eulogy for a great place to work.) Thanks to David Radford (304-595-1090, 2950 Pine St. Belle, WV25015-1819 ), one of the youngest surviving workers at the plant, I was able to see the 55 minute film, “Remember LOF, 1915-2004.” (more…)