What has coal meant to America? Central Appalachia saw the energy source build communities and jobs, all the while creating destructive consequences. Director Elaine McMillion Sheldon explores the area’s difficulties as well as its connections to coal in “King Coal.” The documentary highlights complex subjects through the lives of two young dancers — their journey intensified by Sheldon’s unflinching attention to detail.
The film’s official synopsis:
“A lyrical tapestry of a place and people, “King Coal” meditates on the complex history and future of the coal industry, the communities it has shaped, and the myths it has created. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon reshapes the boundaries of documentary filmmaking in a spectacularly beautiful and deeply moving immersion into Central Appalachia where coal is not just a resource, but a way of life, imagining the ways a community can re-envision itself. While deeply situated in the regions under the reign of King Coal, where McMillion Sheldon has lived and worked her entire life, the film transcends time and place, emphasizing the ways in which all are connected through an immersive mosaic of belonging, ritual, and imagination. Emerging from the long shadows of the coal mines, “King Coal” untangles the pain from the beauty, and illuminates the innately human capacity for change.”
The 2023 Sundance selection “King Coal” opens in select theaters, beginning with New York City on August 11. Winston-Salem, Los Angeles, Charleston, Akron, Cincinnati, Columbus, Queens, Blacksburg, and Bluefield follow with scheduled debuts in August and September.