Sponsors
Funding
Appalachia’s unique interdisciplinary approach has attracted funding as well as enthusiasm from organizations across the region and the country.The National Endowment for the Humanities through a Chairman’s Grant provided funding for the filming of initial interviews and with a scripting grant supported research and script debelopment.
The support of grant from the National Science Foundation allowed us to develop our ideas about natural history and human culture in the script. The National Science Foundation has continued their support of the film with a major grant for production.
The initial stages of the project were made possible by grants from the state humanities groups in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Pennsylvania as well as the Tennessee Arts Commission. A competitive award from the Southern Humanities Media Fund has helped with production of Part One. Support from individuals and nonprofits have totaled more than half a million dollars.
Public Television
Two accomplished PBS state networks, which will act as our co-presenting stations for the series to the PBS network.
- Oregon Public Television, which is well-known for many series and shows on PBS prime-time, including the Emmy Award-winning “A Paralyzing Fear: the Story of Polio in America,”" which was a NEH funded project.
- Kentucky Educational Television, which is one of the lead stations among the coalition of Appalachian stations cosponsoring our series.
Together, these two outstanding networks combine the strength of a regional base with national expertise.
The series is set for release in Fall, 2006, in order to coincide and build upon several related events, such as the 2006 publication of The Encyclopedia of Appalachia, the United States Congressional designation of 2004 as "The Year of Appalachia," and the Smithsonian Institute’s Summer Folklife Festival of 2003, which was devoted to Appalachian music and culture.
APPALACHIA is being produced in the digital, interactive "Enhanced Television" environment of the Twenty-First century, in which viewers will be able to "capture" moments of the film and then follow a hypertext link to see additional images and obtain more information, to view outtakes and hear additional music, or to download text, such as study guides, interviews, photographs, maps, bibliographies or essays.
Co-Sponsors
- The Canaan Valley Institute of Central Appalachia (CVI)
a nonprofit, non-advocacy organization committed to helping communities build their capacity to address environmental or economic problems by implementing locally determined solutions. - The Center for Appalachian Studies and Services (CASS)
creators of the upcoming Encyclopedia of Appalachia - The Coalition of Appalachian Networks and Stations
a six state organization providing logistical, technical and distribution support