Film in Appalachia
4 PM, Saturday
As the very first “by Appalachia, for Appalachia” film festival, Mtn Craft is proud to present “Film in Appalachia,” featuring an array of professionals with a unique perspective into the business aspects of film. WV Film Office’s own Dave Lavender moderates this talented panel; get to know the speakers below:
Heather Bolton
Heather Bolton is the Deputy Director of the Pittsburgh Film Office (PFO) which has successfully attracted over 200 feature film and television projects to the region infusing more than $2.5 billion dollars into the southwestern Pennsylvania economy from film and television production. Since 2018, Heather markets and promotes the 10-county, southwestern Pennsylvania region to the film, television, and entertainment industry. She manages the signature annual fundraiser, Lights! Glamour! Action! which benefits the operations of the Pittsburgh Film Office. She manages the Communications of the PFO and directs the PFO Internship program guiding undergraduate and graduate film and media students through projects to market the Pittsburgh region through all the PFO social media channels. Heather worked in Development at the Palm Springs International Film Society for the Film Awards Gala, the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) and ShortFest (PSISF). In addition, she was a film screener for PSISF and manager of The Power of Words: Book to Screen Symposium program at PSIFF. Heather graduated from West Virginia University.
Jim Wolfe is the Arts in Education Coordinator at the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. He administers the Arts in Education, STEAM, and Mini-Grant programs, and is the state’s Poetry Out Loud coordinator. He also hosts ArtWorks, the State Arts Office's monthly television program. Jim has worked as an actor, director, and voice-over artist, and was a founding member of the Charleston Stage Company in Charleston, WV. He also has experience as a congressional staffer, VISTA worker, adult literacy educator, educational media producer, and (briefly) as the manager of a bar/restaurant/theater/live music venue. Jim graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in American Studies.
Curren Sheldon is an ASC Award-winning cinematographer and an Academy Award nominated and two-time Emmy winning filmmaker. As a cinematographer, Sheldon has shot films that were acquired by Netflix, HBO, PBS, and NY Times, among others. His latest feature as Director of Photography, King Coal, screened at over 40 film festivals and resulted in best cinematography nominations at the Cinema Eye Honors, IDA Awards, Camerimage Film Festival, and a win at the ASC Awards for best documentary feature. His feature film directorial debut, Country Brawlers has screened at over a dozen film festivals and will be released in Fall 2024.
Dr. Eric Waggoner is executive director of the West Virginia Humanities Council, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Born in Malden WV, he is a graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College, Old Dominion University, and Arizona State University. Before joining the West Virginia Humanities Council in 2018, he taught American literature at Marshall University, and was Associate Professor of American Literature and Cultural Studies at WV Wesleyan College, where he chaired the English department, taught in the MFA in Writing Program, and served as Director of the School of Fine Arts and Humanities. Since 2000 he has been a freelance writer, contributing magazine writer and editor, and music journalist, with profile pieces and interviews published in magazines and newspapers across the United States. His academic and creative writing has been published in a variety of professional and creative arts journals.