King Coal
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Hits & Misses: How Six Sundance 2023 Titles Performed in Distribution
After nearly flatlining during the pandemic years, American independent film saw some signs of life in 2023. While optimists might call it a year of transition as the industry looks for new audiences and a new equilibrium, cynics see an unsustainable and contracting arthouse marketplace, with most producers and distributors increasingly unable to recoup. But, if you look at the fates of last year’s Sundance titles, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. For all the doom and gloom about the acquisitions market (“No one is buying films!”), 10 out of 12 films in this year’s Dramatic Competition […]
by Anthony Kaufman on Dec 15, 2023 -
Watch an Exclusive Clip of Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s King Coal
Filmmaker is happy to share an exclusive clip of Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s documentary King Coal, which opens at DCTV Firehouse Cinema in New York City on August 11 before a limited expansion. The clip details the history of West Virginia’s New River—”the second oldest river in the world”—and the discovery of coal in a tributary nearby. Watch the full clip above. An official synopsis gets into the film’s overall thesis: 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 […]
by Natalia Keogan on Aug 10, 2023 -
“I Realized This Was a Film Not Necessarily About Things Seen…But Things Felt”: Elaine McMillion Sheldon on King Coal
Like many Filmmaker readers, I first encountered the work of Elaine McMillion Sheldon a decade ago, when the West Virginia native landed on our annual 25 New Faces of Independent Film list in 2013. She’d just completed Hollow, which began as a documentary about her home state’s struggling McDowell County, and ultimately transformed into a sprawling interactive project; and per Randy Astle’s profile, “a community portrait that includes about three hours of video — including a lot shot by members of the community — audio recordings, text, photographs and user-generated material via Instagram.” Sheldon then popped back onto my radar two […]
by Lauren Wissot on Aug 9, 2023 -
Trailer Watch: Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s King Coal
The first trailer drops today for 25 New Faces of Film alum Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s King Coal, the filmmaker’s meditative hybrid doc on the impact of the coal industry (and the substance itself) on Central Appalachia. The film premiered at Sundance this year in the NEXT section and will arrive in select theaters around the country for limited engagements beginning next month. Per an official synopsis: 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 […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jul 21, 2023 -
“Our Goal Was To Show the Region as We Appalachians See It, As a Place Full of Complexity and Grandeur”: DP Curren Sheldon on King Coal
In Sundance NEXT selection King Coal, Elaine McMillion Sheldon employs a hybrid approach, blending contemporary imagery with archival material and poetic voiceover to explore the impact that coal — the substance and the industry — has had on Central Appalachia. Below, DP Curren Sheldon discusses his collaboration with Sheldon on the picture. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Sheldon: King Coal’s director, Elaine McMillion Sheldon, and I have collaborated […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 1, 2023 -
“We Initially Imagined It as a Rectangle That From the Left Starts Off Dark, Gray and Gloomy”: Editor Iva Radivojevic on King Coal
In Sundance NEXT selection King Coal, Elaine McMillion Sheldon employs a hybrid approach, blending contemporary imagery with archival material and poetic voiceover to explore the impact that coal — the substance and the industry — has had on Central Appalachia. Below, editor Iva Radivojevic, herself a filmmaker, discusses her collaboration with Sheldon on the picture. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Radivojevic: Elaine and I had known each other for about a decade prior to making this […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 1, 2023 -
“There Were So Many Times That This Film Changed in Form, Tone and Story” | Elaine McMillion Sheldon, King Coal
Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? See all responses to our annual Sundance Question here. King Coal is whole-heartedly a creative response to the very act of filmmaking. We filmed this over three years and we were led from shoot-to-shoot based on reactions and creative impulses of our team and Appalachians we filmed with. Some ideas for shots and scenes came to me as a single image […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 1, 2023 -
Field of Vision’s Charlotte Cook on Criteria for New Partners, Preventing Staff Burnout and Their 2023 Sundance Slate
Last month, a letter from Field of Vision’s co-founder and executive director Charlotte Cook announced that the non-profit organization would be splitting from its parent company First Look Media and become an independent studio. Formed in 2015, Field of Vision has been behind documentaries like Hale County This Morning, This Evening, American Factory and Riotsville, USA among others. They’ve also had their hand in producing several films made by 25 New Faces of Film alums, with Alison O’Daniel’s The Tuba Thieves and Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s King Coal premiering at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. As part of the split, First Look […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jan 21, 2023
