Linefork
An immersive meditation on the passage of time and the persistent resonance of place, Linefork follows the daily rituals of an elderly couple living in Kentucky’s Appalachian Mountains. Now well into his eighties, Lee Sexton is the last living link to the distant past of a regional American music. A retired coal miner with black lung, Lee and his wife, Opal, continue to farm the land where he was born. Together they face encroaching health concerns and stark economic realities. Recorded over three years, Linefork is an observational film documenting their marriage, their community, their resilience, and the raw yet delicate music of an unheralded banjo legend, linked to the past yet immediately present.
Directors
Jeff Silva
Jeff Silva is an American filmmaker, teacher, and film programmer based in Boston and France. Jeff’s work explores the quotidian aspects of his subjects’ lives, often over long spans of time. His most recently completed projects, including Linefork (2016), Ivan & Ivana (2011), and Balkan Rhapsodies: 78 Measures of War (2008), have been exhibited at festivals, and museums internationally.
Vic Rawlings
Vic Rawlings bought his first motion picture camera in 2012 to begin work on Linefork as co-director, cinematographer, and editor with Jeff Silva; he was soon taught by Ernst Karel to record sound. He considers himself a lucky man. This project marks his entree to filmmaking. He is a musician and freelance teacher who tours internationally. As a multi-instrumentalist (including banjo, guitar, and mandolin), he has contributed music to film, theater, and television soundtracks.