Deep Down

Trailer (:41)
Clip 1 (5:05)
Clip 2 (5:04)
Clip 3 (5:00)

  • About the Film

    Terry Ratliff and Beverly May look off into the distance while behind them is a train with hoppers full of coal winding through the countryside, between trees alight with fall foliage.

    Beverly May and Terry Ratliff grew up on opposite sides of a mountain ridge in eastern Kentucky. Now in their 50s, they find themselves in the midst of a debate dividing their community and the world: who controls, consumes, and benefits from our planet’s shrinking supply of natural resources?

    Learn more >>

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  • Enter the 3-D Virtual Mine

    The avatar of a woman is floating near the smoking stacks of a coal-fired power plant.

    Filmmakers Sally Rubin and Jen Gilomen devised an immersive Appalachian experience in the virtual world of Second Life to give users a first-hand experience in balancing the cultural, economic, and quality of life issues raised by mountaintop removal mining.

    Grab your hard hat >>

  • From the Blog

    Sally Rubin and Jen Gilomen stand in a narrow alley with film festival lanyards around their necks

    Floyd County USA: Filmmakers Dig Deep

    In our exclusive interview, filmmakers Sally Rubin and Jen Gilomen discussed the arduous process of making Deep Down, and the profound rewards of doing what you love with someone you trust. Oh, and moonshine.

    More about the making of Deep Down >>

  • Independent Lens Extra

    screenshot of a window that says: Deep Down Filmmaker Chat Replay

    Live Chat with Sally Rubin

    Director and editor Sally Rubin fielded questions from the viewing audience in an online chat at the Independent Lens blog. She confesses that she can sympathize with the coal industry after three years of filming in coal country.

    Read the transcript >>