Coalfields

West Virginia industrial landscapes are collaged in abstract mattes that transform the photographed scenes into a kinetic field of shapes and spaces inlaying social, sexual, personal and political content. Woven into the film's fabric is the story of Fred Carter, a retired coal miner and black lung activist who was framed by the Federal Government in order to undercut the black lung movement and to stop his bid for president of the United Mine Workers Association. His story is told through fragments of documentary interviews and through Kimiko Hahn's poem which forms a counter-theme in the film. The film has an original sound composition by Earl Howard.