SLIFF: King Coal

King Coal
Directed by Elaine Sheldon
U.S. | 2023 | Documentary
79 minutes

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, the myths it has created. While deeply situated in central Appalachia, 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.