Screening Southern Music: Heart o’ the Hills (1919; 87 min.)
This year, the theme of the VCU Southern Film Festival is “Exploring Musical Traditions & Stereotypes in Popular Film.” The film at VMFA is Heart o’ the Hills, is a silent film exploring family tensions and the exploitation of coal resources in the highlands of Kentucky, and starring the most renowned actress of early Hollywood cinema, Mary Pickford.
Virginia band The Hot Seats accompanies the film with their particular blend of Appalachian, old-time bluegrass ragtime, and the swagger of good old rock and roll. A panel discussion will follow.
Founded in 2010 to explore how the distinctiveness of the South has been portrayed onscreen, the Southern Film Festival brings together films and those involved in their making with constructive commentary. Learn more.
Sponsored by
Co-sponsored by the VCU Department of History, Art Deco Society of Virginia, and VMFA