FMA program helps produce Breaks Interstate Park documentary
0Written by David Chapman
Anyone who has lived in Eastern Kentucky has no doubt heard about or visited the Breaks Interstate Park. The Breaks Interstate Park is a bi-state park located in southeastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia. Opened in 1954, the park has been nicknamed the “Grand Canyon of the South.” A documentary is being produced with University of Pikeville’s Assistant Professor of Film and Media Arts Andrew Reed helping to co-direct it. Back in 2014, Reed was approached by Curtis Mullins, a member of Friends of Breaks Park. Friends of Breaks Park is a non-profit organization offering support in the areas of conservation, recreational resources, and educational efforts at Breaks Interstate Park, as well as assisting the park in its endeavors in the preservation of our unique landscape. Reed believes that this documentary showcases the beauty of the area. “I think the film itself does a good job of highlighting a very beautiful natural resource in this region that I think we need to take interest in and make sure it stays protected and funding continues for it,” he said. Reed disclosed that a celebrity has been contracted to narrate the documentary, but the person’s name cannot be named at this time. Some film and media arts students were given a chance to help film and edit the almost hour-and-a-half documentary. “I looked at it as an opportunity for the students to get their name on a high-level project,” he said. Reed also encourages anyone who is interested in documentary or narrative filmmaking that they can get in touch with him by coming by his office in CTC 130 or email him at andrewreed@upike.edu.