Participation Type
Performance
Session Title
The Mountain Minor
Presentation #1 Title
The Mountain Minor
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
In the 1920s-1950s, millions of Appalachians left their homes in the mountains and migrated to urban Midwestern centers in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. The Mountain Minor is the story of a life-worn Charlie Abner, a generation later, as he struggles with leaving his present life and family in Cincinnati, Ohio to return to the Kentucky Mountain home and musical heritage that once defined him. The story is partially told in flashbacks to depression era Eastern Kentucky, when Charlie’s parents, Oza and Vestal Abner, face the difficult decision to leave the way of life they know and move to Ohio for employment and better opportunities.
This film is unique in that all of its principal actors are traditional musicians—such as Smithsonian Folkways artist Elizabeth LaPrelle and acclaimed banjoist and fiddler Dan Gellert—and they perform all of the music in the film.
Deeply infused with the traditional Appalachian musical genres of Old Time and Bluegrass, The Mountain Minor tells an overlooked story about the people and culture behind the resurgence of American Roots Music today and highlights artful responses to the difficult circumstances of human migration.
The Mountain Minor is a Narrative Feature Film. Running time is 1:29. A discussion with the presenter would follow for 30 minutes.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Dale was born and raised in Butler County, Ohio where his family migrated from Eastern Kentucky. All four of his grandparents were Appalachian musicians and ballad singers and Dale has carried on that family tradition as a musician in several Bluegrass and Old-Time bands over the years.
He recently retired from his day job as an Emergency Response Coordinator for the Ohio EPA to pursue his passion for filmmaking and forming alt452 Productions, a film company dedicated to bringing Appalachian stories to life.
The Mountain Minor
In the 1920s-1950s, millions of Appalachians left their homes in the mountains and migrated to urban Midwestern centers in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. The Mountain Minor is the story of a life-worn Charlie Abner, a generation later, as he struggles with leaving his present life and family in Cincinnati, Ohio to return to the Kentucky Mountain home and musical heritage that once defined him. The story is partially told in flashbacks to depression era Eastern Kentucky, when Charlie’s parents, Oza and Vestal Abner, face the difficult decision to leave the way of life they know and move to Ohio for employment and better opportunities.
This film is unique in that all of its principal actors are traditional musicians—such as Smithsonian Folkways artist Elizabeth LaPrelle and acclaimed banjoist and fiddler Dan Gellert—and they perform all of the music in the film.
Deeply infused with the traditional Appalachian musical genres of Old Time and Bluegrass, The Mountain Minor tells an overlooked story about the people and culture behind the resurgence of American Roots Music today and highlights artful responses to the difficult circumstances of human migration.
The Mountain Minor is a Narrative Feature Film. Running time is 1:29. A discussion with the presenter would follow for 30 minutes.
