Nearly 50 years later, Oscar-winning filmmaker recounts making highly acclaimed documentary
Director Barbara Kopple on location for the filming of her 1976 award-winning documentary "Harlan County, USA" Courtesy of Barbara Kopple
In the early 1970's, a young filmmaker named Barbara Kopple heard a story on NPR about leadership elections for the United Mine Workers of America, which was among the strongest labor unions in the United States.
Kopple set out to cover the story and that eventually led her to Harlan County, Kentucky, where the miners went on strike.She made an incredible work of art and journalism out of this. Her film "Harlan County, U.S.A." won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 1977 and it went on to shape a generation of filmmakers in and beyond the cinema verite tradition. Kopple will be presenting the film Thursday night as part of the Ebertfest film festival in Champaign and she joins the program today.
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Barbara Kopple
Filmmaker, "Harlan County, U.S.A."
Academy Award Winner