502 Film Lab Partnership + Juneteenth

3 weeks ago

We are proud to announce a partnership with 502 Film for their inaugural Front Porch Film Lab, a 10-day mentorship and project workshopping program that will support 6–10 emerging filmmaker teams (director and producer) by giving them the tools to develop, produce, and bring their project to the exhibition space. Through professional and peer mentorship, workshopping, and fostering connections with the local and broader filmmaking community, filmmakers selected for the Lab will walk away from the 10-day program with a deeper understanding of their story structure, themes and characters, and how the business of film works, as well as having tangible next steps to move their projects forward.

Drawing on the cultural significance of the “front porch” in the American South, the Lab is envisioned as a welcoming, collaborative space—a place of comfort and inclusion designed to inspire some of the region’s best storytelling.

The Lab will run from October 12–24, 2025, in Louisville, Kentucky. Although the Lab is primarily for filmmakers in the Louisville area, 502 Film has allowed Appalshop the opportunity to nominate two Eastern Kentucky Filmmakers currently residing in select Eastern Kentucky counties. You can see the full eligibility details and apply via our Nomination Form. Applications are due June 30.

For full details on eligibility, program content, and more, please visit 502 Film’s website. For questions about Appalshop’s nomination process, please contact us at [email protected].

We want to remind you of the 5th annual Big Stone Gap Juneteenth Celebration in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, on Saturday, June 21, at Italy Bottom Park (315 East River Street North, Big Stone Gap, VA). This year’s event will run from 12:00PM–8:00PM and will feature free food, local vendors, inflatables for the kids, and a talent show with cash prizes. If you don’t know, Juneteenth marks the day—June 19, 1865—when the last group of enslaved Black people in Texas were told they were free, more than two years after President Lincoln had officially ended slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth was named a federal holiday in 2021. This event was co-organized by Joshua Outsey, Appalshop’s Community Archive Coordinator. We sure hope you’ll come out and celebrate with us!

Our "Pay-What-You-Want" digital album deal continues this month with Kay Justice and Ginny Hawker's "Come All You Tenderhearted"—a 1993 album that features Appalachian traditional songs, Primitive Baptist Hymns, and more songs of everyday life, love, death, and home.

"When you are singing about these things," Ginny says, "it's healing."

Kay was born in McDowell County, West Virginia, which borders southwest Virginia. As a student at Clinch Valley College, in Wise, Virginia, she became acquainted with traditional Appalachian music. For years, she performed mountain ballads, bluegrass, gospel, and shape note hymns as a soloist and with groups.

Ginny grew up in a large, musical family in southern Virginia. At family gatherings, she heard and sang early bluegrass, gospel songs, and the unaccompanied hymns of the Primitive Baptist Church. She learned to read music and sing by ear when she was young.

Kay and Ginny met in 1986 while attending the Augusta Heritage Workshops in Elkins, West Virginia. At Augusta, Ginny and Kay discovered a common love and appreciation for traditional Southern Appalachian singing. They decided to combine their musical talents and went on to perform at festivals and music workshops throughout the mid-Atlantic, as well as New York, Michigan, and California.

Find the album on our Bandcamp page and name your own price or download for free, from now until June 30!

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502 Film Lab Partnership + Juneteenth

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