A milestone in the history of documentary filmmaking, Harlan County, U.S.A. focuses on the heroic fight of 180 coal mining families as they try to win a union contract in eastern Kentucky. Kopple makes her compelling case in support of the miners using both the rough-and-tumble immediacy of cinema verite and a range of contextual materials that include archival footage, background interviews, and regional folk music. The resulting film--by turns dramatic and instructive--received broad critical acclaim, winning an Academy Award for best documentary and, in 1990, joining a select group of works chosen for permanent preservation by the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. This screening honors a trailblazing and enduring work of the genre on the twenty-fifth anniversary of its release.