Harlan County U.S.A. with Barbara Kopple in Person

Dir. Barbara Kopple. 1976, 103 mins. U.S. 35mm. Kopple’s epochal, Oscar-winning documentary charting a Kentucky coal miners’ strike is among the great American films of the 1970s, a sensitive yet uncompromising look at the struggles and triumphs of union organizing against growing corporate greed. The director was granted astonishing access to the workers’ year-plus struggle, resulting in unforgettable vérité scenes. A complex and miraculous feat of nonfiction filmmaking, Harlan County USA is also a beautifully rendered portrait of a time and place, capturing its rural atmosphere with boundless respect and intimacy.