A longtime advocate of workers' rights, Kopple originally set out to film in Harlan County, Kentucky, to look at the local union organizations. While she was there, however, things quickly changed when the miners walked off the job to demand safer working conditions. In the middle of this charged moment, Kopple shifted her focus to follow the striking workers and their families to picket lines, bargaining tables and hospital rooms in this canonical film. Kopple documented the 13-month strike, which tore at the community and exposed the hypocrisy of the mining corporation, whose interests clearly put profits before people. Featuring an incredible country and bluegrass soundtrack, Kopple's Oscar-winning documentary is both a snapshot of a community in crisis and a testament to labour movements everywhere. Kiva Reardon
After the screening, join us for an extended conversation with director Barbara Kopple and film subject Bernie Aronson, with a special live performance of music from the film by Jack Morris.