Catherine Pancake
Encyclopedia
Catherine Pancake is an American filmmaker and musician, based in Baltimore, Maryland since ca. 1993. A native of West Virginia, she is a relative of the writers Breece D'J Pancake
, Ann Pancake
, and actor Sam Pancake
. Following her move to Baltimore, she co-founded the Red Room Collective and High Zero
Foundation, She also became a self-trained improvising percussionist and began making films, which ranged from short, experimental meditations to feature-length narratives and documentaries. She is a founding member of the Charm City Kitty Club (GLBT Performance Series,) and the Transmodern Festival (Live.Art.Action.)
Since about 2001, her primary project has been a documentary about the mountaintop removal
project of the coal companies in southern West Virginia and its resulting environmental and humanitarian consequences titled Black Diamonds. Black Diamonds was released by Bull Frog Films for distribution in December, 2006.
Black Diamonds: Mountaintop Removal & The Fight for Coalfield Justice: DV 72 minutes
Documentary Fortnight - Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Feb 2008
Paul Robeson Independent Media Award - 2006
Key to the City - South Charleston, WV - 2006
Spadaro Documentary Award - 2007
Silver Chris Award - Best in Science & Technology Division - Columbus International Film Festival - 2007
Breece D'J Pancake
Breece D'J Pancake was an American author of short fiction. Pancake was a native of West Virginia and published several stories in The Atlantic Monthly during his lifetime...
, Ann Pancake
Ann Pancake
Ann Pancake is an American fiction writer and essayist. She has published short stories and essays describing the people and atmosphere of Appalachia, often from the first-person perspective of those living there...
, and actor Sam Pancake
Sam Pancake
Sam Pancake is a American actor. He is the brother of Catherine Pancake and Ann Pancake, a writer. He graduated from Hampshire High School and currently resides in Los Angeles....
. Following her move to Baltimore, she co-founded the Red Room Collective and High Zero
High Zero
High Zero is an annual festival of Experimental Free Improvised Music hosted in Baltimore, Maryland, US starting in 1999, and is one of the largest Free Music festivals in the US, if not the world. It is hosted by the Red Room Collective, a volunteer group that sponsors weekly concerts in...
Foundation, She also became a self-trained improvising percussionist and began making films, which ranged from short, experimental meditations to feature-length narratives and documentaries. She is a founding member of the Charm City Kitty Club (GLBT Performance Series,) and the Transmodern Festival (Live.Art.Action.)
Since about 2001, her primary project has been a documentary about the mountaintop removal
Mountaintop removal
Mountaintop removal mining is a form of surface mining that requires the removal of the summit or summit ridge of a mountain in order to permit easier access to the coal seams...
project of the coal companies in southern West Virginia and its resulting environmental and humanitarian consequences titled Black Diamonds. Black Diamonds was released by Bull Frog Films for distribution in December, 2006.
Film-and-Videography with Notable Screenings
Released 2006Black Diamonds: Mountaintop Removal & The Fight for Coalfield Justice: DV 72 minutes
Documentary Fortnight - Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Feb 2008
Paul Robeson Independent Media Award - 2006
Key to the City - South Charleston, WV - 2006
Spadaro Documentary Award - 2007
Silver Chris Award - Best in Science & Technology Division - Columbus International Film Festival - 2007
External links
- Black Diamonds film page http://www.blackdiamondsmovie.com/
- Baltimore City Paper article on Black Diamonds http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=11640
- Chela Gallery Retrospective of Pancake's Films http://www.chelagallery.org/shows/previous/cp_show.html
- Black Diamonds