Haw River Films news and contact information

Join us September 16 at 730pm for a special screening of Haw River Films first feature project Grassroots Stages at the Pittsboro General Store in Pittsboro North Carolina. This screening is a benefit for the Chatham Arts organization.

On April 19 Mountain Top Removal received the second place "Appy" award for best documentary at the Appalachian Film Festival in Huntington West Virginia.

On April 18 2008 Mountain Top Removal won the Reel Current Award at the 2008 Nashville Film Festival. The award was selected and presented by Al Gore.

Haw River Films has recently completed a full featured instructional DVD project titled Yoga for Knitters and Sitters.

Haw River Films has replaced the voice over track in the Mountain Top Removal documentary with the narration of actor William Mapother, "Lost" and "In The Bedroom"

Haw River Films recently traveled to Ljublajna Slovenia for a screening at the International Festival of Mountain Film on Feb 16. www.imffd.com The trip was made possible by a cultural exchange grant from the US Embassy in Ljublajna.

Upon arrival in Ljublajna we learned that US Embassy officials had submitted a request to cancel the previously approved grant for the film screening. Festival officials were able to reinstate the the grant.

Mountain Top Removal was screened in Louisville Ky on Jan 31 presented by the Louisville Film Society. Over two hundred turned out to the Clifton Center theater in Louisville. Thanks to all the film society staff for making this happen. Amazing quantities of quality contemporary art fill the city of Louisville. www.gallerynulu.com

On February 15 Kentuckians for the Commonwealth hosted the I Love Mountains rally in Franfort KY. From, It's getting Hot in Here
On Feb. 14th, members of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, coal field residents, college students, grannies, babies, engineers, doctors, 5th graders and of course Wendell Berry converged at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, KY to express their support for HB 164 the Stream Saver Bill which would end Mountain Top Removal Mining in Kentucky.
We gathered in the snow for a historic rally, quite likely the largest rally ever against Mountain Top Removal and definitely the largest ever in Frankfort, and shook the windows with the chant, Whose Mountains? Our Mountains! Whose Streams! Our Streams! Whose Future? Our Future!; and were led by brilliant community members, old time music, and the fabulous author Wendell Berry, who called for Direct Action to end coal industry abuse. We've been patient and polite for 40 years, he pointed out. Maybe it's time we realized patient and polite aren't going to work.
After the rally, we lined the hallway that legislators take between sessions, with hundreds of people chanting, singing, holding signs and home-made quilts for the mountains. They had no choice but to read our signs and listen to the 5th Graders. Local 5th grade classes had learned about MTR in class, and forced their parents to let them skip class and lobby. They led the crowd chanting, in their little 5th grade voices, on the floor! They were asking legislators to bring HB 164 the Stream Saver bill out of committee and to a vote.

If 5th graders can do it, so can you!

Mountain Top Removal was selected for a "Yubie" jury award from the 2008 Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival in Nevada City California on Jan 12.
Packed venues for all the films, a wonderful volunteer staff, incredible films, great food, wine and dancing. This was the festivals sixth year and must be the countrys largest Environmental Film Festival.

Mountain Top Removal received the Indie Truth Award for Best Documentary at the 2007 Charlotte Film Festival. The award also included a check from Bank Of America!

A work in progress screening of Mountain Top Removal received the second place award for best feature (True Grit runner up) at the inaugural Indiegrits Film Festival in Columbia South Carolina. Included with the generous prize money , organic Grits!

Durham North Carolina artist Onur Tukel recently completed a hand drawn movie poster for the Mountain Top Removal documentary

Haw River Films has recently completed a 30 sec regional ad spot for the October Shakori Hills Grassroots festival in Silk Hope North Carolina. Filmed at the festival the ad was shot in 16mm.

PBS affiliate WNED in Buffalo NY will air the film July 23 @ 3pm

Nashville PBS will air the film June 17 @ 11pm

Grassroots Stages scheduled for screening at this years Rhythm and Roots festival in Rhode Island (2005)

Charlotte North Carolina PBS station WTVI will air Grassroots Stages June 23 2005 at 11:00 pm.

WMHT of Albany New York will broadcast Grassroots Stages on July 21 @ 10pm. WMHT will also be airing a feature story on their local arts magazine program INSIGHT at 7:30pm and again at 11pm following the broadcast of the Grassroots Stages film. Donna The Buffalo recorded four songs and Jeb Puryear and Tara Nevins were interviewed for the segment.

Another PBS affiliate schedules Pledge Broadcast!
PBS affiliate WCNY in Syracuse New York aired Grassroots Stages at 8pm on March 14 2005. The broadcast raised $1700 for this PBS station. Thanks to all the WCNY staff and PBS supporters

PBS affiliate WSKG in Binghamton New York aired Grassroots Stages as a pledge special on Dec 5 2004 at 8 pm. The pledge event raised over 1500 for WSKG. Thanks to the WSKG staff and crew for airing the film.

Grassroots Stages was filmed with a single camera over the course of three days in July of 2003 at the Fingerlakes Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance near Trumansburg New York.

The DVD contains fifteen Songs by seven different artists. Plus two Bonus Tracks

Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band,
Dr Jim & Buck Bayou

Donna the Buffalo
Positive Friction, Two Feet Tall, Everything Wants to Hurt This Time, Visitor, BONUS TRACK Rocking Horse

John Specker,
Ring of Fire, Rockingham Cindy

Flying Clouds, Old Cotton Field

The Horse Flies
Sally Ann, Three Shoes (At the Bottom of the Sea)

Jennie Stearns Band
Seasons of Dreams, Get around Behind Me

Samite
Soroti Boys Song, Kaleba

The aquisition format was the Sony Cinealta 900 HD camera.

Transfers from the 24p HD masters to DV video were used to edit and master the project.

A HD widescreen version of Grassroots Stages with 5 1 surround sound is planned.

Multitrack masters recorded by Alex Perialis of Pyramid Sound Studios for the Grassroots Festival are used on the DTB songs from the main stage.
10% of sales of the Grassroots Stages DVD at the 2004 festival have been donated to the Finger Lakes Land Trust

info@hawriverfilms.com