About the Film
Playwrite Gary Carden writes....
Blow the Tannery Whistle is my story about growing up in
Appalachia. Since I was blessed—and afflicted—with a graphic memory, my tales are based on actual events. My father was a mountain musician who was killed by a local drunk when I was two years old. My mother left me on the front porch of my grandfather’s house and caught the bus for Knoxville. I was brought up by my grandparents in a house filled with the past. I listened to Grady Cole and Renfrow Valley on the radio while my grandfather tuned musical instruments and sang hymns from a shape-note songbook. There was always a great deal of foolishness about bad blood and black Irish curses.
I grew up with June Apple trees, cows, comic books, the Farmers’ Federation and Saturday movies. I told my first stories to white leghorn chickens in a dark chicken-house when I was six years old. My audience wasn’t attentive and tended to get hysterical during the dramatic parts.
Licensing
For licensing, film rights and permissions, contact Tom Davenport, Jonathan Hamilton, the distributor, or Folkstreams.
Film Details
- Film by: Tom Davenport, Jonathan Hamilton
- Produced by: Tom Davenport
- Cinematographer: Jonathan Hamilton
- Editor: Jonathan Hamilton with Thom Shepard
- Other Credits: Raindrop Waltz performed by Ginny Hawker and Kay Justice
- Funding: North Carolina Arts Council
- Original Format: 8mm: Hi8 Video
- © 1994, Tom Davenport
- 34mins, Color
- Categories:
Narrative & Verbal ArtsFamilyRegional Cultures