Documentary Film Program
in the National Park Service Visitor Center
The 2011 Richmond Folk Festival Film Series celebrates the vibrant contest and other folk traditions of Virginia and the southern United States. From flatfooting and stepping competitions to hollerin’ and country music contests, and the stories of apple growing families and quilting women, these films explore themes of art, heritage, family, and community celebration.
2011 Schedule:
Saturday, October 15
12:00 p.m. Let Your Feet Do The Talking (30 min.) Seventy-year-old flatfoot legend and Tennessee native Thomas Maupin shows off some of his favorite dance steps, and reflects upon his life, family, and special relationship with his banjo-playing grandson, Daniel Rothwell. Produced by Kyle and Steward Copeland, 2010.
12:40 p.m. All The Past We Leave Behind (22 min.) Learn about Civil War sites and battlefields in the Richmond area. National Park Service.
1:12 p.m. It Ain’t City Music (15 min.) A slice of life at the 1972 National Country Music Contest at Lake Whipoorwill in Warrenton, Virginia, festival attendees speak nostalgically about their rural origins and why they love country music. The film also features excellent festival fashion, hairstyles, and guitar pickin’. Produced by Davenport Films, 1973.
1:37 p.m. Welcome To Spivey’s Corner: The National Hollerin’ Contest (17 min.) “Hollerin'”, a form of communication used in rural areas before telecommunication, is the traditional art celebrated every June at the National Hollerin’ Contest in Spivey’s Corner, North Carolina. This film features footage from the 1978 contest, along with interviews and raucous demonstrations by some of the contest’s best hollerers. Produced by Kier Cline, 1978.
2:04 p.m. All The Past We Leave Behind (22 min.) Learn about Civil War sites and battlefields in the Richmond area. National Park Service.
2:36 p.m. From Wood To Singing Guitar (32 min.) Wayne C. Henderson, master musician and luthier from Rugby, Virginia, invites us inside his workshop and talks about his guitar making, picking, and personal mentors, including his folk heroes E.C. Ball and fiddle maker Albert Hash. Produced by Shawn Lind, 2009.
3:18 p.m. Steppin’ (57 min.) Stepping is an exciting dance style popular today among black fraternities and sororities. Rousing, crowd-pleasing performances are featured in this examination of stepping’s social significance and its cultural roots in African dancing, military marching, and hip-hop music. Produced by Jerald B. Harkness, 1992.
4:25 p.m. Quilting Women (28 min.) An intimate glimpse of this Appalachian women’s domestic tradition conveyed through the voices of the quilters themselves. In focusing on the actual material of quilts--their traditional patterns, stitches, and fabric, the viewer gains a sense of the importance of quilting as a communal social activity and the value of handmade heirloom art. Produced by Elizabeth Barret, 1976.
5:03 p.m. Applewise (29 min.) Applewise traces a year in the orchard of the Mullins family, third generation apple growers in Wise County, Virginia. The film portrays their struggle to meet market demands, uphold their family tradition, and survive as one of the only two remaining family-owned apple orchards in the area. Produced by Anthony Slone, 1997.
5:42 p.m. Rattlesnakes: A Festival at Cross Forks, PA (24 min.) In the surrounding hills near Cross Forks, PA, rattlesnakes are hunted and collected by local handlers in preparation for the annual Rattlesnake Festival, which celebrates this feared reptile. The main attraction is a series of snake-bagging contests, including children’s and women’s contests using non-poisonous snakes. The team that successfully bags all the snakes in the least time, without getting bitten, is declared the state champion. Produced by Kenneth Thigpen and George Hornbein, 1992.
Sunday, October 16
12:00 p.m. Remembering Emmanuel Church (37 min.) An oral history of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, founded in Fauquier County, Virginia, in 1858. The stories of community members, living and deceased, is presented in the style of Edgar Lee Masters’ American Classic The Spoon River Anthology. Produced by Tom and Mimi Davenport, 2000.
12:47 p.m. All The Past We Leave Behind (22 min.) Learn about Civil War sites and battlefields in the Richmond area. National Park Service.
1:19 p.m. Thoughts on Fox Hunting (30 min.) This 1975 documentary juxtaposes beautiful visuals and dialogue from all aspects of the Orange County Fox Hunt in Middleburg, Virginia, with narrative from the 18th century English classic, Thoughts on Foxhunting, written by Peter Beckford. Produced by Tom and Mimi Davenport, 1975.
2:00 p.m. Let Your Feet Do The Talking (30 min.) Seventy-year-old flatfoot legend and Tennessee native Thomas Maupin shows off some of his favorite dance steps, and reflects upon his life, family, and special relationship with his banjo-playing grandson, Daniel Rothwell. Produced by Kyle and Steward Copeland, 2010.
2:40 p.m. All The Past We Leave Behind (22 min.) Learn about Civil War sites and battlefields in the Richmond area. National Park Service.
3:12 p.m. From Wood To Singing Guitar (32 min.) Wayne C. Henderson, master musician and luthier from Rugby, Virginia, invites us inside his workshop and talks about his guitar making, picking, and personal mentors, including his folk heroes E.C. Ball and fiddle maker Albert Hash. Produced by Shawn Lind, 2009.
3:54 p.m. Steppin’ (57 min.) Stepping is an exciting dance style popular today among black fraternities and sororities. Rousing, crowd-pleasing performances are featured in this examination of stepping’s social significance and its cultural roots in African dancing, military marching and hip-hop music. Produced by Jerald B. Harkness, 1992.
For more information about these films visit:
http://appalshop.org/
http://www.folkstreams.net/
http://www.thomascandance.com/