Seven Sisters Cinema

2011-05-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

AWARD WINNING LOCAL FILMMAKER TO SHOW FILMS AND SPEAK AT SEVEN SISTERS CINEMA

Seven Sisters Cinema concludes its Spring programming of 2011 with “An Evening with Rod Murphy.” Murphy will be showing a number of shorter projects in addition a full-length showing of Being the Diablo, a documentary film about Asheville native Mickey Mahaffey, who in a state of perpetual depression, diverged from his traditional middle class surroundings, started living in the woods, and ended up finding spiritual solace in his visits with the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico.

Some of Murphy’s other projects have included Greater Southbridge, profiling several members of small Massachussettes town, all of whom range from colorful to bizarre. Rank Strangers tells the story of Mrs. Neila Hyatt of Asheville, North Carolina, and the weekly "jam" she hosted, which is one of the Southeast's longest running weekly events involving a close-knit community of music lovers that crosses generations.

Seven Sisters Cinema, a division of Serpent Child Ensemble, will host Murphy at White Horse Black Mountain on May 26 at 7 PM. Their mission is to bring documentary films of regional importance and their makers to local audiences.

2011-04-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

ATLANTIC
A film by Neal Hutcheson
Thursday April 21st 2011 at 7pm

SEVEN SISTERS CINEMA HOSTS EMMY AWARD WINNING FILMMAKER AND HIS NEW DOCUMENTARY

Seven Sisters Cinema continues to bring groundbreaking and important regional filmmakers to the area with a preview screening of “Atlantic,” and a discussion by the filmmaker, Neil Hutcheson. Hutcheson, best known for his Emmy Award winning documentary about local cult hero, Popcorn Sutton, turns to the coastal regions of North Carolina in his newest film.

Seven Sisters Cinema, a division of Serpent Child Ensemble, will present a preview screening of the work in progress on Thursday, April 21st at 7 PM at White Horse Black Mountain. Their mission is to bring documentary films of regional interest and their filmmakers to local audiences. Hutcheson hopes to get audience feedback during the discussion following the screening.

Along the jagged coastline of North Carolina's Core Sound lies a string of small fishing villages, collectively known as “Down East.” Most families here can trace their ancestry to the earliest European land claims in the area, and for many generations have worked the adjacent waters in boats built by hand from indigenous trees. Characterized by a rugged independence forged in isolation, locals continue to eke a living from the water, braving the unpredictable weather, the treacherous character of the waterways, the seasonal variability in fish stock, and an ever-declining market for their catch.

Now the Core-Sounders suddenly find themselves at the center of a massive land grab by developers. Overcoming their own stubborn independence, historic rivalries between their communities, and a wariness of government intervention, the residents have organized to resist unwelcome development and to petition their county and state leaders for assistance. A portrait of a community in crisis and the inner workings of local government, raising difficult questions about the handling of special cultural and ecological areas in the United States.

“I first visited the Core Sound fishing communities to do a light documentary on regional dialect,” says Hutcheson, whose work has earned him the 2011 Brown Hudson Award from the North Carolina Folklore Society. “What I found there was a frontier culture in the marshes, going back three hundred years, now fighting for its existence against rampant development and a rising tide of free market forces.”

A short preview trailer from the film Atlantic can be seen on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md6AIXVdwUI

On May 19th, Seven Sisters will host “An Evening With Rod Murphy,” with the Asheville filmmaker showing excerpts from several of his movies. “Being the Diablo,” is the story of local legend, Mickey Mahaffey and his trip to Mexico’s desolate Copper Canyon. “Rank Stranger,” covers the long running Thursday night music jam at the home of Neila Hyatt in West Asheville. “Greater Southbridge,” Murphy’s first film, is about some of the strange and colorful street people of South Boston. Murphy’s most recent work, with local film star Andie McDowell, focuses on Asheville’s own “Miss Gay Latina” beauty pageant for transgender women.

White Horse Black Mountain is located at 105c Montreat Road (just a bit north of the center of town) in Black Mountain. It boasts a giant screen, concert quality sound, and bar service. Tickets are five dollars for adults and three dollars for students.

Seven Sisters Cinema is a monthly documentary film series at White Horse Black Mountain, the popular new music venue in the town of the same name. Shown on a giant screen with full sound, the series features films about the Appalachian experience and/or by Appalachian filmmakers. Serpent Child Ensemble is a local non-profit arts organization that produced the highly popular “way Back When” play series at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts. They are currently creating their own documentary about the Beacon Blanket Mill in Swannanoa and the community that grew up around it.

For more information contact Seven Sisters Cinema at 686-3922

2011-03-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

STRANGER WITH A CAMERA
A film by Elizabeth Barret
Thursday Mar 24 2011 at 7pm

Seven Sisters Cinema kicks off their second season of documentary films with a visit by award winning filmmaker Elizabeth Barret and a screening of her 2000 documentary film, “Stranger With a Camera.” This film was the winner of the San Francisco International Film Festival Silver Spire award, and a nominee for a grand jury prize at the Sundance film festival, where it debuted. The film investigates the murder of filmmaker Hugh O’Connor in Letcher County, Kentucky.

Stranger With A Camera screens on Thursday, March 24th at 7 PM at White Horse Black Mountain. Tickets are only 5.00 (3.00 for students)

Set in th rugged backcountry of Appalachia, the film deals with the question of the role of documentary filmmakers and the cultural and community boundaries and barriers which filmmakers encounter.

The 2000 documentary film by director Elizabeth Barret investigatesg the circumstances surrounding the 1967 death of Hugh O'Connor. Barret, who was born and raised in the region, explores questions concerning public image and the individual's lack of power to define oneself within the American media landscape. By contrasting multiple perspectives from locals and O'Connor's film crew, Barret weaves a tale of a complexly motivated crime with an insightful exploration of how the media affects the communities it chronicles.

In 1967 Canadian filmmaker Hugh O'Connor visited the mountains of Central Appalachia to document poverty. A local landlord, Hobart Ison, who resented the presence of filmmakers on his property, shot and killed O'Connor, in part because of his anger over the media images of Appalachia that had become icons in the nation's War on Poverty.

Filmmaker Elizabeth Barret uses O'Connor's death as a lens to explore the complex relationship between those who make films to promote social change and the people whose lives are represented in such media productions. Through first-person accounts of the killing and the perspective of three decades of reflection, “Stranger with a Camera” leads viewers on a quest for understanding - a quest that ultimately leads Barret to examine her own role as both a maker of media and a member of the Appalachian community she portrays. Barret will be at the screening to talk and answer questions.

Seven Sisters Cinema is a monthly documentary film series at White Horse Black Mountain, the popular new music venue in the town of the same name. Shown on a giant screen with full sound, the series features films about the Appalachian experience and/or by Appalachian filmmakers. Serpent Child Ensemble is a local non-profit arts organization that produced the highly popular “way Back When” play series at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts. They are currently creating their own documentary about the Beacon Blanket Mill in Swannanoa and the community that grew up around it.

Mountain Talk was created by the North Carolina Language and Life Project under the auspices of the North Carolina State University Humanities Extension Department in Raleigh. Neal Hutcheson directed and produced the hour-long film and it was released with a companion CD titled An Unclouded Day: Stories and Songs of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

For more information contact Seven Sisters Cinema at 686-3922 or the White Horse Black Mountain at 669-0816

2010-09-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

MOUNTAIN TALK
A film by Neal Hutchison
Thursday Sept 16 2010 at 7pm

“Mountain Talk” by Neal Hutcheson will be the September documentary presented by Seven Sisters Cinema at White Horse Black Mountain in Black Mountain. The film will screen at 7PM on September 16th. Tickets are only $5 for adults and $3 for students.

“Mountain Talk” takes a look at the language patterns that are peculiar to the White descendants of the Scotch-Irish immigrants that settled in the southwestern Appalachian Mountains. Through stories, songs and interviews, the residents of western North Carolina talk of the old days, tracing the origins of a unique quasi-Chaucerian dialect that is rapidly disappearing in the blender of 24/7 media.

Featuring master storytellers such as Gary Carden, Orville Hicks and Mary Jane Queen, the film introduces us to Popcorn Sutton, the poster-boy of the Appalachian moonshine set, who recently killed himself rather than face a term in Federal prison.

Jeff Eason of The Mountain Times, calls “Mountain Talk, “an eye-opening documentary, an enlightening way to spend an hour with some of the true mountain folk of our region.”

This is the first film in what has become Hutcheson’s trilogy about Popcorn Sutton. In “The Last Run,” Hutcheson focused exclusively on Sutton as he made what he swore was his “last run” of moonshine. (It wasn’t.) Hutcheson who has won numerous awards for his filmmaking is completing the film that will sum up Sutton’s career as well as documenting his increasing media savvy.

For more information contact Seven Sisters Cinema at 686-3922 or the White Horse Black Mountain at 669-0816

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:

Paul Bonesteel officially began his career in 1985 with N.C. Public Television while in college, graduating from North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

Paul traveled to the Soviet Union to direct, If The People Will Lead, captured a biography of a folk singer in Travels With Claude, rafted through Alaskan wilderness to shoot Caribou Bones, and revealed a complex photographer in the midst of the Olympic Games in Dreams and Despair.
Paul Bonesteel has produced and directed nine full-length documentary films with most airing on PBS. His most recent works include, the award-winning The Great American Quilt Revival (2005), The Mystery of George Masa (2002) Folkmoot USA (2003) and the documentary short 'Pier' screening in the 2009 Asheville Film Festival.
Bonesteel Films is now five years into production on a PBS bound documentary on the iconic American writer Carl Sandburg, with the expectation for completion in 2010.

2010-09-13T07:36:00.000-07:00

RED EYE GRAVY: Four Short Films

This evening we present a great evening of short films we're calling "Red Eye Gravy: An evening of local Shorts"
Our four films for tonight are:
Pin Down Girl -
A film about an Ashevillian who was a female wrestler back in the 50's and 60s....and she'll be here to tell us all about it herself.

...Pickin and Trimmin -
A small town Barbershop where local gather weekly to make music and share good times

Shoe Shine Man -
There's more to shining shoes than you might think

The Wagon Road -
Black Mountain Van Burnette takes us along paths of the past

Its going to be a really fun night of interesting and entertaining fiilms starting at 7pm.

Cost is only 5.00, or $3 with student ID!!

2010-07-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

FOLKMOOT
A film by Paul Bonesteel
Thursday July 15th 2010

Folkmoot is an old English word meaning "meeting of the people." UNC-TV and North Carolina filmmaker Paul Bonesteel introduce you to more than 350 folk musicians and dancers from around the world who flock to Western North Carolina for the colorful pageantry of the celebrated international folk festival. This behind-the-scenes glimpse of the festival's cultures, concerts and camaraderie-complete with Tahitian drums, French stilt dancers, Russian acrobats and Mexican boot-stomping dances-offers non-stop global thrills.

From the chaos of Waynesville's opening street parade to the candlelight finale, Bonesteel captures the whirlwind of cultures, languages, exotic dances, international friendships, performances and midnight parties that swept through the mountains of North Carolina. Bonesteel filmed for two weeks and culled through 50 hours of footage to create the exciting, entertaining and educational documentary that gives a colorful picture of Folkmoot's 20 th anniversary.

More than 190 folk groups have shared the cultural heritage of 95 countries with North Carolina's citizens and visitors during the past 19 years. Groups from six continents-Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America-attended the event, eager to share their culture and history. Performers came from such exotic locations and far-off lands as Tahiti, The Buryat Republic, Norway, Chile, Sardinia, Romania, Nepal and Hawaii.

Named a Top 20 Event in the Southeast by the Southeastern Tourism Society, and a Top 100 Event by the American Bus Association, Folkmoot has also been recognized locally and internationally for its accomplishments in the sharing of cultures and friendship.
Bonesteel Films of Asheville was selected to produce the regionally funded documentary. Sen. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, spent months stumping in Raleigh to drum up funding for the documentary.

www.unctv.org/folkmoot
http://www.folkmootusa.org/

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:

2010-06-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

Beer Yall

A film by Curt Arledge

(scheduled for Thursday June 17th 2010)

In July 2008, seven friends piled into a seatless cargo van and embarked on cross country tour of 27 microbreweries throughout North Carolina from Murphy to Manteo.     Beer Y'all follows their nine days of hanging out with brewers, playing rock shows, and drinking many, many beers as they celebrate friendship, music, and a Southern microbrewing explosion.

Brilliantly, Beer Ya’ll provides a cultured, intimate view of the emerging craft brewing scene in the Old North State, all the while providing colorful tunes and hilarious commentary.

Brothers Curt and Will Arledge intermix the sophisticated elements of modern craft brewery with rock and roll, modern folk, Bluegrass, and other styles of music all performed by musicians indigenous to the state of NC.

According to Arledge, they ended up with over 80 hours of footage and a few hangovers along the way, but he assures folks that they always had a designated driver.

North Carolina is becoming a hub for craft breweries, and the microbrewery phenomenon is especially prevalent in Asheville NC and the surrounding ares.   Beer Y'all illustrate this eloquently through a variety of interviews with, arguably, some of the most cultured members of the “alcohol elite” in operation today.

Beer Y'all is "a mash-up of three of my favoritethings: craft beer, original music, and entrepreneurial righteousness." - SamCalagione of Dogfish Head

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE MOVIE TRAILER

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:

2010-04-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

Why Old Time?

A film by Chris Valluzzo and Sean Kotz
(scheduled for May 20th, 2010)

Why Old Time? is a positive and celebratory feature length documentary about Old Time music fan culture.

This film focuses on the relationship between the music and its fans, examining why so many folks travel long distances to festivals, why they spend so much time learning songs written decades or longer before they were born and why the musical tradition established hundreds of years ago is being preserved by people today.

Why Old Time? explores the sense of community based around the music and why people gather weekly to play Old Time music and commune with each other form house concerts to huge festivals. The film also address the tremendous wealth of knowledge fans retain on not just a given song, but where it came from, variations of it, and musicians that were known to play it.

In essence, documents both the Old Time music scene as it is today as well as its development over the years। Why Old Time? demonstrates why it is important to preserve this music and share it with younger generations.

FOLLOWING THE SCREENING OF THE FILM, STICK AROUND FOR DISCUSSION FOLLOWED BY LIVE OLD-TIME MUSIC in a tradtiional old-time jam session featuring local pickers.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW A SHORT CLIP FROM THE FILM

VISIT THE FILMS WEBSITE

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:

Horse Archer Productions was founded in 2005 by Sean Kotz and Chris Valluzzo, two Virginia natives and current residents of the New River Valley. Before forming the company, Kotz taught writing, literature and film at Virginia Tech and Valluzzo completed the director's certificate program at the New York Film Academy and worked heavily in the DC Metro indie scene.

Their first feature film, Hokie Nation, hit theaters in 2007 and propelled the company on to three more documentaries in two years--The Henry Reed Legacy, Why Old Time? and Virginia Creepers.

Future projects include documentaries on Highwoods String Band and pro-wrestler Jimmy Valiant as well as regional television projects.

2010-04-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

Swannanoa Valley Heritage: People and Places

A collection of short films focusing our local heritage
in Black Mountain and the Swannanoa Valley

(scheduled for April 15 2010)

This months program is a collaborative effort between the Swannanoa Valley Museum, Seven Sisters Cinema, and White Horse Black Mountain. Our films for April explore our own local history in the Swannanoa Valley and also local filmmakers.

Growing Up in Black Mountain
Inez Daugherty discusses her life and her experiences as an African-American woman growing up in Black Mountain in the days of segregation.

The Black Mountain Airport
Black Mountain Airport was operated by Red Nichols and was located adjacent to the Ingles Warehouses on Highway 70.
Filmmakers are Gary and Sally Biggers of Black Mountain Digital Video

Daylight Came to Buncombe County
Over 120 years ago, the railroad finally crossed the Swannanoa Gap and brought expanded opportunities to residents of the valley. .
Filmmakers are Owen High Schools Mary Julian and her history students

A Hike to Mitchell Falls
Mitchell Falls plays a very significant role in the history of the Black Mountain and the Swannanoa Valley. Walk with us on a hike down to the falls which shows both the natural beauty of our region and it’s historic waterfall.
Filmmaker is Van Burnette.

2009-12-08T23:30:00.000-08:00

ABOUT US: Our Mission

Seven Sisters Cinema is dedicated to fostering dialogue among residents of the Swannanoa Valley and all of Western North Carolina about issues that impact our mountain community by presenting documentary films and discussions that are related to the past, present and future of the region.

Our intention is to feature documentary films that focus on regional culture and to present and support the work of documentary filmmakers living in the region.

We believe that "regional culture" is an ever-changing and evolving entity with a past, a present, and a future. Our selection of films will demonstrate the broad and dynamic nature of regional culture.

In our effort to foster dialogue and discusson about our region and our effort to support local and regional filmmakers, the filmmakers and regional scholars will provide commentary, lead discussions and answer questions following the showing of each film in the series.

2009-12-08T15:12:00.000-08:00

Tobacco Money Feeds My Family

A film by Cynthia Hill

(scheduled for March 18th 2010)

Tobacco Money Feeds My Family, adocumentary about tobacco growers, farm workers and tobacco-dependent communities struggling with the decline of domestic tobacco production. Filmmakers Cynthia Hill and Curtis Gaston documented three North Carolina tobacco farmers, their families and communities. Unlike many tobacco films, that question the morality of pursuing the crop, this film offers a comprehensive look at the realities of working tobacco families for a rarely seen view of their struggles and triumphs.

Shot over a period of five years Tobacco Money Feeds My Family is a wistful yet clear-eyed portrait of a centuries old North Carolina culture in crisis. In this remarkable documentary, Hill and Charlotte resident Gaston revisit the tobacco country of Hill’s youth and find three diverse farm families who—despite facing a rapidly changing industry, deep cuts in government quotas, the swaying of popular opinion, and the realities of global economy—struggle to maintain their lifes’ works.

Growing up in Pink Hill’s tobacco farming community, Hill spent each summer until her senior year in high school working in the tobacco fields. "Some of my first memories are following behind the tractor that was transplanting tobacco into the field," says Hill. "I was four-years-old. My mother rode on the transplanter, facing backwards, and I walked behind her straightening the baby tobacco plants. She was able to keep an eye on me. She could work and watch me at the same time. It was a real family affair. There would be neighbors and cousins in the fields; parents would bring their kids. It was what you did in the summer."

In the course of 60 minutes, the viewer is provided an intimate and detailed look into the vanishing world of a centuries old culture. Honest, mournful, and subtly heartbreaking, Tobacco Money Feeds My Family is a meditation on the bonds of community, richness of the Earth, and abundant memories of a rapidly expiring way of life. From the first fog-shrouded planting in the spring to the frenzy of an autumn tobacco marketplace, Tobacco Money Feeds My Family sensitively chronicles the numerous joys—and heartbreaks—of a people whose love of family, God, and community is rivaled only by the fertile soil beneath their feet and the redolent smells of curing tobacco.

Tobacco Money Feeds My Family has screened in over 25 festivals nationally and internationally including the Austin Film Festival, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Filmstock International Film Festival (UK), Cucalorus Film Festival, Asheville Film Festival, Riverrun Film Festival and the IndieMemphis Film Festival.

VISIT THE FILMS WEBSITE

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:

Cynthia Hill is producer, director and co-editor for Tobacco Money Feeds My Family. She grew up in Pink Hill, North Carolina, where many of her family members, friends, and neighbors farmed tobacco. Hill began her production career working on health education media. For four years she worked as an editor at GLC Productions, a post-production facility in New York City whose clients included MTV, PBS, Lifetime, Nickelodeon, and many others. Recently, Hill co-produced February One, a documentary film about the 1960 Greensboro, NC, lunch counter sit-ins, that aired nationally on the PBS series Independent Lens. Hill’s current film project The Guestworker, (co-directed by Charles Thompson and photographed by Gaston) was selected to screen as a work in progress at the Independent Feature Project (IFP) in NYC this month. Hill is also the co-founder of the Southern Documentary Fund, a support organization for documentary artists across the South. READ MORE ABOUT CYNTHIA HILL

Curtis Gaston is co-producer and director of photography for Tobacco Money Feeds My Family. He is a veteran North Carolina-based filmmaker whose credits include Brother, an Emmy Award-winning documentary about his relationship with his older brother who suffers from cerebral palsy, and Quarterback, also an award-winning documentary that aired on North Carolina Public Television. More recently, his short film, “The Flag Day Parade” was a documentary finalist at the 2004 Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. In 2000, Gaston received the NC Arts Council Visual Artist Fellowship for his work on Tobacco Money Feeds My Family and an Arts and Science Council grant for his work on his in-progress documentary film on the Confederate flag issue in SC. He is currently working on a film about North Carolina musician, David Childers.

2009-12-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

The Mystery of George Masa

A film by Paul Bonesteel

(scheduled for Feb 18th 2010)

In the early 1900s an obscure Japanese man came to North Carolina and championed the Great Smoky Mountains National Park through his photography. Shortly after his death, his name was almost completely rubbed out of history. This program uncovers the story behind this nearly forgotten man in The Mystery of George Masa.

George Masa, or Masahara Izuka, came to the mountains of North Carolina in 1915. His name was changed shortly after his arrival, and the mountains he adopted as his own were forever changed as a result of his work.

The Mystery of George Masa chronicles the life of George Masa, a Japanese immigrant who became well known in Asheville, North Carolina, as a great photographer, hiker and explorer. During the 1920s and 1930s, he was instrumental in the founding of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the mapping and building of the Appalachian Trail. But his mysterious past, his untimely death and the passage of time have clouded our knowledge and appreciation of George Masa. Until now. The Mystery of George Masa recaptures many interesting details about Masa’s life, work and influential friends, as well as his lasting impact on the preservation movement.

To the people who knew him he was extraordinary. The memories of the people he was closest to all echo the same tones; his gentleness, his energy, his wisdom, and his passion for wanting to convey the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains to as many people as possible.

Told through interviews with a few living acquaintances, historians’ accounts, Masa’s own words from personal letters and journals, subtle re-creations, and a wonderful collection of the subject’s own photographs, The Mystery of George Masa uncovers many of the secrets that surround this immigrant's story.

The film highlights Masa's advancement from a valet at the Grove Park Inn to a respected photographer, his treks through the mountains, his close friendship with photographer Horace Kephart and his painful grief after Kephart's death. His constant financial struggles and final illness foreshadow the tragedy that this genius would eventually be forgotten.

While he is called "the Ansel Adams of the Appalachian Mountains" by photographer and historian Gil Leebrick, Masa’s work is largely unknown. For a variety of reasons, after Masa’s death, his photos were credited to other people. The Mystery of George Masa takes an intimate journey into this unique photographer's life and the Southern Appalachian Mountains that were his subject.

VISIT THE FILMS WEBSITE:

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:

Paul Bonesteel officially began his career in 1985 with N.C. Public Television while in college, graduating from North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

Paul traveled to the Soviet Union to direct, If The People Will Lead, captured a biography of a folk singer in Travels With Claude, rafted through Alaskan wilderness to shoot Caribou Bones, and revealed a complex photographer in the midst of the Olympic Games in Dreams and Despair.

Paul Bonesteel has produced and directed nine full-length documentary films with most airing on PBS. His most recent works include, the award-winning The Great American Quilt Revival (2005), The Mystery of George Masa (2002) Folkmoot USA (2003) and the documentary short 'Pier' screening in the 2009 Asheville Film Festival.

Bonesteel Films is now five years into production on a PBS bound documentary on the iconic American writer Carl Sandburg, with the expectation for completion in 2010.

2009-12-05T13:17:00.001-08:00

2009-12-05T12:33:00.001-08:00

The Last One - The Story of Popcorn Sutton

A film by Neal Hutcheson

(scheduled for Jan 21st 2010)

The Last One, depicts legendary moonshiner Popcorn Sutton, of Western North Carolina, distilling his final batch of illegal liquor, while interviews with Appalachian folklorists, storytellers, and noted authors explore the role of moonshine in Appalachian history and identity. The affable Sutton dominates the film, weaving explanations of points of craft with stories of a lifetime of experiences in the moonshine trade.

Popcorn Sutton’s fame grew exponentially in March of 2009 when he committed suicide following a series of highly publicized moonshine busts. He was scheduled to report for an eighteen-month prison term and elected instead to end his life.

Obituaries appeared in publications around the country including the Washington Post and New York Times.

Neal Hutcheson, producer and director of The Last One, comments, “Popcorn’s death underscores the cultural preservation value of films like The Last One, a fact that I doubt escaped the Emmy selection committee.”

The Last One was produced by Sucker Punch Pictures and funded in part by grants from the North Carolina Arts Council and United Arts of Wake County.

The Last One premiered in November, 2008 in the Southern Lens series on ETV in South Carolina, and is currently shown in regular rotation on UNC-TV in North Carolina and on the Documentary Channel nationwide.

VISIT THE FILMS WEBSITE

Download press materials for the film

FILMMAKER BIO

NEAL HUTCHESON

(Producer / Director)

Hutcheson has produced five documentaries for PBS in collaboration with the renowned linguist Walt Wolfram –
Indian By Birth (2001),
Mountain Talk (2004),
Voices of North Carolina (2005),
The Queen Family: Appalachian Tradition & Back Porch Music (2006), and
The Carolina Brogue (2008).

Independently, Hutcheson directed the documentary The Prison Sutras (1997), and produced numerous short films including Jornado del Muerto (1998), Cry Like A Baby (2000), and Vollis Simpson’s Whirligigs (2001).

Hutcheson, in collaboration with Wolfram, is currently engaged in an ambitious feature-length documentary on cultural decay in the rural fishing communities along the North Carolina coast.

Hutcheson received a Regional Artist grant from United Arts in 1997 and again in 2002, and a highly competitive Visual Artist Fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council in 2004.

2009-12-05T11:37:00.000-08:00

Seven Sisters Cinema is proud to show our films in the 225 seat theatre at White Horse Black Mountain.

White Horse Black Mountain is a 4400 sq. ft. music and arts venue in beautiful, historic, downtown Black Mountain, NC, in the midst of the spectacular Western North Carolina mountains. Founders/managers Bob Hinkle and Kim Hughes have renovated the old Chevrolet dealership into a great place to see and hear music & arts, have a drink and relax.

White Horse Black Mountain is a non-smoking venue with easy access and plenty of free parking. The venue severs a variety of fine beers on draft and bottled as well as a selection of fine wines, soft drinks, coffee and tea. Light snacks are also available for purchase.

Learn more about the venue at
http://www.whitehorseblackmountain.com/

2009-12-04T02:43:00.000-08:00

ABOUT US: Our Name

The Seven Sisters moniker refers to the progression of prominent mountain peaks visible from Black Mountain North Carolina. The Seven Sisters are located just north of our screening location, White Horse Black Mountain, and are clearly visible from the front entrance.

The names of the seven peaks are Tomahawk, Stomping Knob, Little Piney, Big Biney, Slaty, Greybeard and False Greybeard.

A walk to the top of the Seven Sisters peaks affords a different perspective on the surrounding landscape. The Seven Sisters Cinema documentary film series offers a different perspective on regional culture through the films we screen.

Click HERE to view additional images of the Seven Sisters range.

Other connotations of Seven Sisters.

"Seven Sisters" also refers to the star cluster called Pleiades found in the constellation Taurus. The Pleiades play a prominent role in the folklore of many world cultures from the Mayans to Native Americans to the ancient Greeks.

The Seven Sisters (Pleiades) were called the 'sailing stars," by early Greek seamen and they refused to take sail unless the Seven Sisters were visible.

The Seven Sisters guided the seamen in their travels, allowing them to stay on course by looking both forward and backward to view their position relative to the Seven Sisters.

Seven Sisters Cinema believes that documentary films can serve to guide us as we look forward and backward at our regional history and culture.

2009-04-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

ABOUT US: Our Organization

Seven Sisters Cinema is a project of Serpent Child Ensemble, a Swannanoa-based 501c3 non-profit organization. The film series focuses on films of regional interest and films by regional filmmakers.

Serpent Child Ensemble is a community-arts organization focusing on the power of art for communities to tell their stories. The organization has worked in numerous communities to create and produce community theatre based on oral history of the local folk.

After 15 years of community-based theatre, Serpent Child embarked on a new project in 2008 using the vehicle of documentary film to communicate the story of Beacon Mill in Swannanoa North Carolina. The film focues on the rise and fall of the Beacon Blanket Mill in Swannanoa, NC, it’s influence on the people who worked there, and it’s national and global context.
This documentary film is currently in production with a projected completion date of 2011.

Seven Sisters Cinema is the Serpent Child's newest project and one which dovetails nicely with the organizations experience in communicating stories of local and regional interest using the arts.

For more information about Seven Sisters Cinema, contact
Don Talley at dontalley@gmail.com
Jerry Pope at Jerry@serpentchild.org

More about Serpent Child Ensemble

SERPENT CHILD ENSEMBLE, founded in 1993, is a non-profit professional company dedicated to the collaborative creation of multi-disciplinary, community-based art. The company’s mission is to:facilitate people to use the power of art to tell their stories.interpret stories and dramatize world myths.produce original productions based on personal and social themes.create community-based performances with “non-professional” population groups.teach acting, writing, drawing, journalling, and creative thinking skills.

Visit the Serpent Child Website

Contact info for Serpent Child Ensemble:
828 686-39222

15 Wilson Ave.
Swannanoa, NC 28778
Rebecca: serpentchild@earthlink.net
Jerry: Jerry@serpentchild.org

AND REMEMBER:Your tax-deductible donations are always welcome! Contact us to find out what we need and how you can help support our work.