POV, King Coal
PBS WESTERN RESERVE (WNEO 45.1 / WEAO 49.1):
Sunday, June 30, at 11 PM
Fusion (WNEO 45.2 / WEAO 49.2):
Monday, June 24, at 10 PM
Saturday, June 29, at noon
POV opens its 37th season with the visually stunning observational documentary KING COAL, directed by Oscar® and Emmy®-nominated filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon (Heroin(e)). Filmed in Central Appalachia and through the personal memories of McMillion Sheldon — a 4th generation coal miner’s daughter — the film is a collection of vignettes about the cultural roots of coal and its waning impact over a sector of American life, while making space for a dream of the future to emerge.
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. A young girl learning the story of coal anchors the journey while McMillion Sheldon reshapes the boundaries of documentary filmmaking with a deeply moving immersion into Central Appalachia where coal is not just a resource, but a way of life, imagining the ways a community can re-envision itself.
While deeply situated in the regions under the reign of “King Coal,” where McMillion Sheldon has lived and worked her entire life, 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.