Documentary Filmmakers on Interpreting Rural Life: From Appalachia to the World

Presented by Appalachian State University’s High Country Humanities, with support from North Carolina Humanities.

Join Appalachian State documentary filmmakers for screenings of their work, a panel discussion, and an audience Q&A moderated by documentary film scholar Dr. Maria Pramaggiore, chair of Appalachian State’s Department of Interdisciplinary Studies. The speakers will address how visual narratives portray and inform the public’s perceptions of communities outside of cities.

The event is part of High Country Humanities’ ongoing series “Connecting Local and Global Rural Cultures.” This series of talks, workshops, demonstrations, and film screenings is supported by a grant from North Carolina Humanities. Each event is designed for general audiences and will help the campus and broader public learn about the stories, histories, and traditions of rural communities from our state and around the world.

FEATURED FILMMAKERS

Tom Hansell

Hansell is a Professor of Appalachian Studies in Appalachian State’s Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and co-director of AppDocs. He is the recipient of grants and fellowships from the Headlands Center for the Arts, the Chorus Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. His documentary films include Coal Bucket Outlaw (2002), The Electricity Fairy (2010), and After Coal: Welsh and Appalachian Mining Communities (2016).

Dr. Kevin Kennedy

Dr. Kennedy is a Professor Emeritus of German in Appalachian State’s Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures and director of Kdocfilms. In 2020, his project Germans in Jamaica: War, Spies and Camps (2016) won the Gold Award for Best International Documentary Film at the International Film Festival in Florence, South Carolina. Kennedy’s other documentaries include German Enemy Aliens in the Land of the Sky (2012) and Peter Paul Zahl: German Exile Writer in Jamaica (2007), among other films.

Yndiana Montes

Montes is a graduate student at Appalachian State pursuing her master’s degree in Appalachian studies and the creator of a short documentary titled Everybody Loves Maako. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, she has three decades of experience as a travel writer and is the proud recipient of a Doc Watson Award. Currently, she is working on a documentary about a bluegrass musician named Joe Troop.

This is EVENT is FREE and open to the public.
Appalachian Theatre, 559 W. King St.

For a disability accommodation, visit odr.appstate.edu.

ABOUT HIGH COUNTRY HUMANITIES

High Country Humanities at Appalachian State University aims to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the humanities across the High Country region of North Carolina. The program supports faculty in their scholarly activities, promotes their collaborations with community partners and organizes events that help their expertise reach the wider public. High Country Humanities is an initiative of App State’s College of Arts and Sciences, with support from the Division of Academic Affairs. Learn more at hchumanities.appstate.edu.