SUTTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia FILMmakers Festival, celebrating its 21st-year, will be live streaming Mike Morningstar from Todd Burge Studios, Saturday, October 3rd at 7:00 p.m.
Richard Anderson’s documentary Mike Morningstar: Here’s to the Working Man will screen at 5:30 p.m., with a Q & A and live music by Mike at 7:00 p.m.
Mike Morningstar: Here’s to the Working Man. Mike is a singer/songwriter born and raised in West Virginia. Mike began his musical career in 1964 when at the age of 16 he joined a predominately black rhythm & blues soul band. Four years later, Mike was drafted and sent to Vietnam where he was exposed to Agent Orange and other traumas that resulted in PTSD. Consequently Mike’s musical career as well as his personal life changed dramatically. His marriage ended as well as his career playing with large bands. Mike became a loner, both in his personal life and in his musical career where he performed mostly as a solo artist. It took Mike over 20 years to get to the point where he could describe his Vietnam experience in song with the haunting Neu Ba Den. Other songs describe the plight of the working Man and the environmental destruction coal mining brought to his beloved West Virginia such as Buffalo Creek and Coal Country Blues. The film tells the story of Mike’s loss of his musically inclined son in a fatal car accident and Mike’s struggle to overcome his mental and physical challenges from the tragic episode of Vietnam. “Mike Morningstar: Here’s to the Working Man” is comprised of interviews with Mike and his wife of 27 years, Donna Morningstar as well as 14 of Mike’s songs, the majority of which are performed live.
Tickets for the feature documentary and Live Streaming Event can be purchased at wvff2020.eventive.org.
The West Virginia FILMmakers Festival will be screening virtually on Eventive the weekend of October 3 & 4, 2020. Screening 18 films online over two days.
“A great feature of a virtual festival is that you can watch the films on your schedule. You’re not tied to the screening time like you are in a live event. Just like any show you are streaming you can elect to watch Day One of the festival that’s best for you. You must order your ticket festival weekend and you have several days to view the films. As a FILMmaker or film goer, you want to see film in a theatre on a big screen with your crew, cast, family and friends. However, this whole year isn’t the same. So we adapt to survive. We are seeing a lot of opportunities in opening the festival up online. We have the ability for more screening events throughout the year instead of one weekend. It is our plan to be both virtual and live in 2021, and screening live at the historic Elk Theatre in Sutton.”
The FILMmaker Festival would not be possible without the support of our generous sponsors: Café Cimino Country Inn, Landmark Studio for the Arts, Elk Theatre, Town of Sutton, Elk Hostel, Sutton Moose Lodge 825, Elk Motor Court, Shentel, Braxton Convention and Visitors Bureau, Microtel Inn & Suites of Sutton/Gassaway, Premier Bank, Inc., TSG Consulting, and Mountain Craft Productions.
Schedule and Tickets available at: wvff2020.eventive.org
More Information www.wvfilmmakersfestival.org.
