Mine 21

WINNER of the 2020 Jack Spadaro Award, “given annually to recognize the producer of the best nonfiction film or television presentation on Appalachia or its people."
WINNER of the 2019 Austen Riggs Center's Erikson Institute Prize for "excellence in the depiction of mental health in Media."
On December 8, 1981, Mine 21 near Whitwell, Tennessee, suffered a methane explosion that killed thirteen miners. The Mine 21 explosion was the worst mining disaster in Tennessee since the introduction of modern safety precautions.
Decades later, college student Kelsey Arbuckle, seeks to uncover information about what happened to her grandfather, one of the victims of the explosion. During her investigation, she meets mine rescue workers, coal industry experts, and trauma experts who help her to understand the lasting impact of the disaster.
She discovers a community still wrestling with lasting trauma from the incident itself, but also the closure of the mines. Most importantly, she reconnects with her mother and grandmother, whom she learns testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, chaired by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts)-- a testimony that led to changes in the enforcement of mining laws and helped to save lives.