Thursday night, Coal Country has a showing in Blacksburg at the Lyric Theater, a not-for-profit movie theater and community center in downtown Blacksburg. It was a great setting for a showing of this movie that take a look at modern coal mining. Lauren posted the trailer to Coal Country below and I recommend looking to see if there is a showing near you. The producers, Mari-Lynn Evans and Phylis Geller, let the residents tell their stories. They interview miners and those who work for the mining companies who talk about how coal puts food on their table, but they also talk to former miners who have health problems, people from mining families who are now working to end mountain top removal and to end the destructive extraction of coal from the mountains of Appalachia.

Before the film, Diana Jones sang original work and old miner songs. Her powerful voice and evocative songs set the mood for the film as her love of those mountains was evident. Kathy Selvage, the daughter of a coal miner and a dedicated activist, greeted us and told us some of her story. Kathy was one of the people profiled in the movie and will be traveling to many of the showings scheduled. Local nonprofits and student groups set up tables to give moviegoers opportunities to get involved. A group of Virginia Tech students from “Virginia Tech Beyond Coal” talked about their vision for moving the university past its current use of coal to being a leader in clean energy technology.

I’ve been involved in climate change work for over five years now and the postive vision of what we’re working to create gives me the inspiration to believe we’re going to get there, but there are times when I am reminded of what we’re really working to stop. The images of mountaintop removal and of the fallacy of ‘reclaiming’ MTR sites are images I have seen before but to see them in moving picture while hearing stories from those in coal country, was absolutely heartbreaking. Seeing the destruction isn’t enough to convience everyone that mountain top removal should end, but I have no doubt this film will convience many. Find a showing near you here.