- Welcome to POV.
I'm Pete Schwaba,
host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
In West Virginia's Central Appalachia region,
coal is a way of life.
One could even say it's king.
The natural resource is responsible for the existence
of entire communities in the state.
In tonight's film, King Coal,
we get an up-close look at a once-thriving part of America
from a director who lived there
and explores what the area's future may hold
and the human capacity for change.
King Coal is directed
by the Oscar-winning director Elaine McMillion Sheldon,
who has a special connection to the area.
Sheldon was born in Logan, West Virginia
and has spent her whole life basically living on location
in Central Appalachia.
The daughter of a coal miner,
she calls her film part documentary, part fable
as she uses archival footage and insightful, vivid narration.
In King Coal, Sheldon chose to tell her story
through the eyes of two young girls,
Lanie March and Gabrielle Wilson.
Lanie and Gabrielle allow Sheldon to reenact her own youth
and showcase her wide-eyed outlook at life
in the land of coal.
With a wistfulness, the director looks at what life might hold
for her young leading ladies as they get older
in an area struggling to maintain its economy,
and as a result, its identity.
Sheldon shows us firsthand what coal has provided
for the people in West Virginia
and how the region struggles to see their future without it.
In some cases, refusing to let go of their past.
The director says she found Lanie and Gabrielle
after researching local dance studios.
She wanted someone comfortable in front of the camera,
but who could also ignore the fact
that a movie was being shot around them.
She also wanted girls from coal mining families,
just like the one she came from.
Sheldon feels strongly
about what coal does to the environment
and wanted to get her point across
without being too preachy.
She says casting the girls was an effective way
to navigate such a highly politicized issue.
Lanie and Gabrielle provide access to the issue
through the eyes of children who live in an area
that will force them to redefine themselves.
In effect, making her story less political and more human.
Elaine McMillion Sheldon said she screened the film
for some local people.
Afterwards, one older coal miner sat silently.
When Sheldon asked him what he thought about the film,
he said, "You told the truth," and started weeping.
King Coal starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.