Elizabeth Barret Obituary in Lexington Herald Leader paper Feb. 2026
Elizabeth Banks Barret, an Appalshop filmmaker who made some of the most iconic documentaries to come out of Eastern Kentucky, died Tuesday February 2, 2026 at her home in Whitesburg after a long illness, according to her son, Evan Smith. She was 74. Her films include “Quilting Women,” “Coal Mining Women,” and “Long Journey Home,” about the Appalachian diaspora. But probably her most famous is “Stranger with a Camera,” which examined the 1967 shooting death of Canadian filmmaker Hugh O’Connor, who had come to Eastern Kentucky to film there as part of international interest in the region, thanks to the War on Poverty.
O’Connor and his crew were interviewing a family living in a rental house in Jeremiah. The house’s owner Hobart Ison opened fire on the crew, killing O’Connor. Barret, who grew up in Hazard, used personal remembrance, archival footage and contemporary interviews to examine the incident, and its larger implications of Appalachian identity, storytelling, and the outsider’s view. Dee Davis, the former Appalshop executive director who produced the film, called it “perhaps the definitive film on what it meant to grow up here when so many of the world’s lenses were focused on the region.” “Stranger with a Camera,” which was recently featured at the 12 Lions Film Festival here in Lexington, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival.
Barret attended Hazard High School and the University of Kentucky. Shortly after graduation, she moved to Whitesburg to start working at Appalshop, where she met her husband, Herb Smith. In addition to her filmmaking, Barret was the founding director of the Appalshop Archive,which holds many of the recordings, films and photographs produced there. Dee Davis grew up with Barret in Hazard, and later worked with her at Appalshop. “She was just full of spirit, very positive about everything,” he said. “She was always trying to figure out how to help people, and she didn’t have any trouble recruiting others to do the same.” Mimi Pickering, a fellow Appalshop filmmaker, said Barret was known for being chronically late. “The reason she was always late is she was always stopping to check something out or talk to people,” Pickering said. “She had this amazing curiosity and empathy for other people and places. She was an amazing filmmaker, but also so nice and caring about so many people —when new people came to Appalshop, she’d be out there helping them find a place to live.” Barret is survived by her husband, Herb Smith, and their two children, Evan Smith and Ada Smith, and four grandchildren, her son said. Services will be held at Letcher Funeral Home with visitation on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026 from 6:00pm to 8:00 p.m. and the funeral on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. with Rev. Ellen Peach officiating. An after-funeral reception will be held Saturday at the Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church in Whitesburg, Evan Smith said. Donations may be made to the Appalshop Archive at appalshop.org/donate or 9404 Highway 805, Suite B, Jenkins, KY 41537 in honor of Elizabeth Barret.
