Music and Movies Save Mountains

Emmylou Harris, Patty Loveless, Alison Krauss, Patty Griffin, Big Kenny, Dave Matthews, and Kathy Mattea at Music Saves Mountains, Nashville.

As we watched the sold-out crowd in Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium rise to its feet while Dave Matthews, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Kathy Mattea, Alison Krauss, Patty Loveless, Big Kenny, and several other musicians joined their voices together to raise awareness for the issue of mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia, it dawned on us: as of today, we are officially part of a movement.

This week, Deep Down participated in two Nashville events with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). On May 19th, the Deep Down trailer was shown in the middle of a star-studded line-up of musical acts at the Music Saves Mountains concert at the Ryman. The following night, when Deep Down screened with Coal Country at the historic Belcourt Theater, country music star Kathy Mattea told us, “I had a couple overwhelming waves of emotion during the day,” and “It was a moment I’ll never forget. I had this moment standing on the stage thinking, this is the moment, where something bigger is happening — where a movement becomes a movement.”

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Tags: alison krauss, dave matthews, deep down, emmylou harris, mining, patty loveless

Encore Presentation of Butte, America Tonight on Independent Lens

“[Butte, America] is one of those films you just couldn’t imagine on commercial TV –– a tale about a Montana mining town that died more than a generation ago, a rich catalog of memory that ends in 1985, a story of tragedy and triumph that’s mostly played out before the invention of videotape.”
- Kansas City Star

You see the world differently when you work underground. That made Butte, Montana different right from the start as immigrants came from around the world to work the mines. But what they blasted out of the 10,000 miles of tunnels was more than just copper. It was the rise of unions and multinational corporations, and the seeds of the current debate over the environment.

Check out this behind-the-scenes video of Butte, America where the filmmakers talk about how they used recreations and interviews to evoke the most immediate emotional response from the audience.

Butte, America airs tonight, March 16, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).

Tags: Anaconda Company, Butte, copper, mining, Montana

Recent Talkback About Independent Lens This Month

Always thought-provoking, sometimes controversial, Independent Lens brings you documentaries, dramas, shorts and Web-exclusive projects made by independent thinkers. Check out some of the recent Talkback from viewers about films airing this month.

HERB & DOROTHY

“What an inspiring film! If the Vogels are ‘greedy,’ it is yet a selfless compulsion–the best kind–that recognizes beauty and the persons that grow with the art. And thanks to the filmmaker who persevered to tell this intimate, quirky story.”
Posted by: Cynthia Pon on October 15, 2009

“Congratulations to all: Herb and Dorothy for your beautiful collections and sharing your love of each other and your wonderful collections. PBS you did your viewers a great service by bringing us this magnificent presentation… It touched my heart as I am sure it did others. Thank you very much.”
Posted by: Nancy on October 14, 2009

“What an informative film, captivating. Thank you to the Vogels for sharing their story with all of us and especially for supporting artists for so many years. And thank you for the gift to the National Gallery of Art.”
Posted by: Patricia Macklin on October 14, 2009

View more Talkback and submit your own for HERB & DOROTHY >>

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Tags: art, artists, mining, Montana

BUTTE, AMERICA Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens

“[BUTTE, AMERICA] is one of those films you just couldn’t imagine on commercial TV—a tale about a Montana mining town that died more than a generation ago, a rich catalog of memory that ends in 1985, a story of tragedy and triumph that’s mostly played out before the invention of videotape.”
-Kansas City Star

You see the world differently when you work underground. That made Butte, Montana different right from the start as immigrants came from around the world to work the mines. But what they blasted out of the 10,000 miles of tunnels was more than just copper. It was the rise of unions and multinational corporations, and the seeds of the current debate over the environment.

BUTTE, AMERICA premieres tonight, Oct. 20, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).

Tags: Anaconda Company, Butte, copper, mining, Montana

Q&A With END OF THE RAINBOW Filmmaker Mitzi Goldman

Airing this Sunday at 10:00 PM on Global Voices on PBS World (check local listings), END OF THE RAINBOW explores the human dimensions of industrial gold-mining in two remote locations: Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo and Guinea, West Africa. We recently spoke with filmmaker Mitzi Goldman about the challenges of making the documentary and her style of filming. Learn more about the film and get her take below:

Q. What were some of the challenges you faced in making this film? What were some of the lessons you learned in making END OF THE RAINBOW.

Mitzi Goldman: Making a documentary in Africa is always going to present challenges, especially if the country is undergoing some political strife. In our case, we were lucky to have the access and cooperation of the mining operation. They helped enormously with logistics and accommodation as well as power and transportation. This is due to the director’s excellent relationships with the mine.

The translations were quite challenging and time consuming. It was expensive to find translators in Australia who could speak the Malinke dialect and be able to transcribe the interviews. We didn’t really find them, and so we had to do the labor intensive typing as they were translated from the screen.

I learned that sometimes being in the right place at the right time can make your movie. It’s important to grab opportunities as they present themselves and make the most of the moment. Sometimes, one scene can make a film. For us, it was the pit bust scene. When we had that scene and the following events, we knew we had a great film.

Always go that extra mile.

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Tags: Africa, filmmakers, mining

Watch END OF THE RAINBOW on Global Voices on PBS WORLD

“A refreshing change from hardline documentaries about foreign capital wreaking havoc in Third World countries,” Variety

END OF THE RAINBOW explores the human dimensions of industrial gold-mining in two remote locations. As the mine’s structures and equipment are dismantled in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, then transported and reconstructed to begin gold processing in Guinea, West Africa, what unfolds is an elegiac portrait of the changes brought by the mine and of the universal human desire for a better life.

Watch a preview below:

END OF THE RAINBOW airs Sunday, August 30 at 10:00 PM on Global Voices on PBS WORLD (check local listings).

Tags: Africa, mining

Watch THE DEVIL’S MINER on Global Voices on PBS WORLD

Living in poverty with their mother in the mountains of Bolivia, 14-year-old Basilio and his 12-year-old brother, Bernardino, brave deadly conditions while working long shifts in the Cerro Rico silver mines to earn enough money to attend school. THE DEVIL’S MINER follows the brothers into the underground mining tunnels where they tempt fate to gain a better life.

“A study in courage and harrowing portrait of a 14-year-old boy who works in a Bolivian silver mine, THE DEVIL’S MINER is an unforgettable journey through hell under the earth, where Satan is worshiped as king,” Variety.

Watch a preview below:

THE DEVIL’S MINER airs Sunday, May 3 at 10:00 PM on Global Voices on PBS WORLD (check local listings).

Tags: Bolivia, mining, online video