The Do Something Reel Film Festival: On Coal River

Directors Adams Wood and Francine Cavanaugh focus on the issue at large while simultaneously revealing shocking personal hardships. Massey Energy, the company in charge of the majority of “mountaintop removal” – coal mining that literally blows up mountains – constructed a huge dam of toxic slurry that’s seeping into Coal River Valley’s main water system and adversely affecting the health of children at a nearby elementary school.

The community’s main concerns include exposure to arsenic, lead, and mercury, unsafe drinking, cleaning, and bathing water, and respiratory illnesses, including asthma and bronchitis. During the initial development of the documentary, the filmmakers show both sides of the issue by gathering local opinions and giving those in favor of the corporation a chance to speak. For the workers, corporation and state, no evidence has been gathered to prove that strip mining is causing health problems.

Ultimately, On Coal River follows the heart-wrenching personal stories of activists on a mission. Ed Wiley, a former coal miner, is concerned for his granddaughter’s safety at the school and works to raise money to build a new one. Maria Lambert notices her neighborhood’s water is far from normal and wants the Department of Environmental Protection to notice. Bo Webb and Judy Bonds, long-time locals who have seen the destruction in their backyards, work to present their cases to anyone who will listen.

Wiley and others meet with the Governor to express their issues, and he seems unfavorable at first. A bit standoffish, the Governor makes empty promises to investigate the water system, aware that the cameras are on him. When the investigation doesn't go through, the Wiley and others are disappointed and confused, because it's clearly unsafe, which further proves how the governor isn't committed to helping them. After the governor’s months-long investigation, it is no surprise when the state declares the school safe. The Coal River Valley residents’ persistence won’t allow them to stop there. They speak up to the news, in front of classrooms, and at community meetings. Wiley walks over 450 miles from Charleston, West Virginia to our Nation’s Capital to meet with Senator Robert Byrd.

The filmmakers spent almost five years building relationships with the local people and following them on their journey. The subjects expose raw emotions and even slight glimpses of hope along the way. Sometimes, the camera seems almost absent. The directors don't seem concerned with the positioning of shots; documenting as much evidence as possible, making a true statement for advocacy seem to be the priorities. While the scenes are in transition, the camera focuses on beautiful mountain ridges and community homes, as well as aerial views on vast, dusty, gray flatlands.

The film succeeded at honing in on both accomplishments and stumbling blocks that happen along the way and the effects that will follow. Repeated shots of toilet tanks filled with rancid orange slurry, green muck from pumps, blackened water filters, rotten yellow wells, dirty school walls, murky river banks, and dusty skies make sure you don’t miss why these neighbors will fight for what they think they deserve: a future for their valley and community.

—

This coverage is part three of six reviews Poor Taste Magazine will be providing for the Whole Foods Market “Do Something Reel” Film Festival. The festival, a traveling collection of six films aimed at raising awareness of environmental and food issues, launched at the beginning of April and is being shown in theaters across 70 U.S. cities. For a list of show times near you, visit: “Do Something Reel” Screenings