We made a new film — and its world premiere is at the American Film Institute

 We're very proud to announce that we're releasing a new Appalshop film — and that it has been selected to make its virtual world premiere as a Special Presentation by the American Film Institute.

"Portraits and Dreams" is a collaboration between our own filmmaker Elizabeth Barret and photographer Wendy Ewald, who undertook a unique creative project with her elementary school students when she was on staff at Appalshop 35 years ago.

Together, Ewald and her students photographed their families and lives in Letcher County, Kentucky, resulting in a remarkable Appalshop collection called “Portraits and Dreams: Photographs and Stories by Children of the Appalachians.”

Their collaboration was a rare opportunity for kids in our region to uplift their own stories not as subjects, but as artists with agency and creative control.

When Ewald returned to visit her students 35 years later, now grown and with children of their own, our own Elizabeth Barret was there to capture their lasting connection and reflections on film.

“What emerges is the unbreakable, timeless bond between teacher and student and the transformative power of art,” says critic Ken Jacobsen, who has called the film “beautiful and deeply moving.”

We couldn’t agree more.Barret has made seven films at Appalshop since she first joined in 1973, including the internationally-renowned 2000 release “Stranger with a Camera.” Now with “Portraits and Dreams,” Barret continues to explore the way that our region is portrayed, this time not by “strangers,” but by Appalachians themselves.