A lyrical tapestry of a place and people, King Coal meditates on the complex history and future of the coal industry, the communities it has shaped, and the myths it has created. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon reshapes the boundaries of documentary filmmaking in a spectacularly beautiful and deeply moving immersion into Central Appalachia where coal is not just a resource, but a way of life. While deeply situated in the communities under the reign of King Coal, the film transcends time and place, emphasizing the ways in which all are connected through an immersive mosaic of belonging, ritual, and imagination. Emerging from the long shadows of the coal mines, King Coal untangles the pain from the beauty, and illuminates the innately human capacity for change."
Filmmaker Biographies
Elaine McMillion Sheldon (Director / Producer / Co-Editor) is an Academy Award-nominated, and Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker. Sheldon is the director of two Netflix Original Documentaries - Heroin(e) and Recovery Boys - that explore America's opioid crisis. She has been named a Creative Capital Awardee, Guggenheim Fellow, a USA Fellow by United States Artists, and one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film,” by Filmmaker Magazine. Her latest film, King Coal, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. McMillion Sheldon was raised in West Virginia and lives in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Schedule
Kentucky - Tennessee Circuit
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 - Lexington, KY - The Living Arts & Science Center
Thursday, April 11, 2024 - Bowling Green, KY - Western Kentucky University
Friday, April 12, 2024 - Nashville, TN - Global Education Center