Directing
Mountain dialect, culture and identity are revealed by the true experts on Southern Appalachian culture--the people whose families have lived there for generations.
Following Tennessee moonshiner Popcorn Sutton as he produces what he swears will be the last of his product.
Talking Black in America follows the unique circumstances of the descendants of American slaves and their incredible impact on American life and language. Speech varieties from the African American community reflect the imprint of African language systems, the influences of regional British and Southern American dialects, and the creativity and resilience of people living through oppression, segregation and the fight for equality. Filmed across the United States, Talking Black in America is a startling revelation of language as legacy, identity and triumph over adversity. With Reverend Jeremiah Wright, DJ Nabs, Professor Griff, Quest M.C.O.D.Y., Dahlia the Poet, Nicky Sunshine and many others.
A string of villages along North Carolina's Core Sound stands as testament to the hardiness and ingenuity of generations of watermen and their families. For nearly three hundred years these communities have earned a livelihood from the adjacent waters. Their heritage now lingers uncertainly, threatened by a rising tide of free market forces. Core.Sounders documents a community in transition, where culture and tradition hang in the balance.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians fight to save their native language, a vessel of knowledge and heritage for the Cherokee people.
An exploration of cultural and linguistic diversity in North Carolina.
This is the first documentary about Black ASL: the unique dialect of American Sign Language (ASL) that developed within historically segregated African American Deaf communities. Black ASL today conveys an identity and sense of belonging that mirrors spoken language varieties of the African American hearing community. The program highlights the different uses of space, hand use, directional movement, and facial expression, which are ways that Black ASL distinguishes itself as a vibrant dialect of American Sign Language. The African American Deaf community is now embracing their unique variety as a symbol of solidarity and a vital part of their identity.
An ambitious documentary focused on the drastic environmental and cultural changes that have occurred over the last 100 years in the Inuit village of Inukjuak, the location where Robert Flaherty filmed Nanook of the North from 1920-1921. From the recording of interviews to filming daily life, much of this new documentary was produced by members of the community.
Filmed in North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, from 2000 until Sutton’s death in 2009, A HELL OF A LIFE is an unforgettable portrait of the last great moonshiner. featuring Popcorn Sutton, Jesco White, JB Rader. music by Dana & Susan Robinson, Grifters & Shills, Henry Queen, Ola Belle Reed, Patty Hurst Shifter and Joe Knowlton.
Deep in the wilds of Southern Appalachia, lifelong moonshiner Popcorn Sutton runs 1 last batch of accurate moonshine whiskey. By means of the exhausting work of clearing the site, building a rock and clay furnace, brewing corn mash and producing high-proof moonshine, Sutton reveals the craft of standard distillation, the character of his Scots-Irish ancestors, and a lifetime of memories in the trade.
The story of Lumbee Indian language and identity.
