“Heartbreaking and enlightening at the same time. A must-watch for everyone because we should all be in this together.”
– Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
Directed by Michael Bonfiglio
A compelling look at the lives and issues behind the “war on coal,” From The Ashes premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and the National Geographic Channel.
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Produced by
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Theatrical Trailer
What People Are Saying
“From the Ashes” went on the road to more than a dozen cities around the world for special advance screenings. Here’s what viewers had to say after watching the film.
Featured Song
In 1946, singer-songwriter Merle Travis wrote the song “Dark as a Dungeon” to describe the harsh and dangerous conditions that coal miners experienced every day. American musician, singer-songwriter John Mellencamp recorded a special version of the song in support of From the Ashes.
Where to Watch
AVAILABLE ON DEMAND
From the Ashes is available for purchase on Amazon, iTunes, GooglePlay, Hulu, and other digital platforms, as well as on DVD.
BROADCAST PREMIERE
From the Ashes premiered in the United States on the National Geographic Channel on June 25th. If you reside outside the United States, please check your local listings or visit nationalgeographic.com to view the schedule.
Support Coal Impacted Communities
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Move America Beyond Coal
Join Bloomberg Philanthropies in supporting the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign to secure the retirement of half of the nation’s coal fleet by the end of 2017. The Sierra Club is currently on schedule to meet this goal and continues to make progress despite politics in Washington. The initiative is one of the most effective campaigns to cut carbon emissions in history. It will help the United States speed up the growing shift seen among communities, ratepayers, investors, utilities, and state and local governments to move away from expensive, outdated power plants and towards clean energy solutions.
Voices from the Film
There are many different voices in the conversation around coal. Here are some from the film.
This country made a promise in 1947, that they would guarantee health care and pension benefits to coal miners if they would work in these here coal mines. Now, we fulfilled our promise. We’ve done it. And a hell of a lot of us died doing it.
The warming by the end of this century could be as high as 5 or 6 degrees Celsius. It would be warmer than it’s been since the dinosaurs were dominant more than 65 million years ago, and it’s not clear whether the human endeavor could survive in such a world. It’s now a question of whether we can control which direction it goes, so we can go into a climate friendly world, instead of a climate inferno, basically.
At one time they said if we were our own country, we’d be like Saudi Arabia. You know, we’d have as much energy underneath as they do.
The thing about coal – it’s labor intensive. Somebody’s taking a paycheck home on Friday night, putting shoes on the baby.
We wanted to do our part, first of all, to reduce climate emissions. That’s what our residents want.
If we can do something different with it, like clean coal – I don’t know if we can or not – but it could be a very good thing for us if it happens.
We live in constant fear every day. Who fears their water?! We don’t live in a third world country. I mean, this is the United States of America here! And we’re fearing our water.
As a region, we’re not ashamed of powering this country for a hundred years. We’re proud of that and we should be proud of that. But I think that we’re waking up to the realization that if we’re going to survive, we’re going to have to adapt.
Press
- View the press release: “National Geographic Documentary Films Acquires 2017 Tribeca Film Festival Selection From the Ashes”
- View the press release: “National Geographic Broadens Access to Documentary on the Impacts of Coal and America’s Energy Future with Free Streaming Release of From the Ashes”
- Download the full trailer
- Download the 60 seconds trailer
Please contact Rebecca Carriero at rebeccac@bloomberg.org with press inquiries.
Education
Credits
Directed By: Michael Bonfiglio
Produced By: Sidney Beaumont
Executive Producers: Jon Kamen, Joe Berlinger, Katherine Oliver, Justin Wilkes
Director of Photography: Ronan Killeen
Edited By: Dave Marcus
Music By: Mark Orton
Co-Producers: Rachel Koteen, Lindsay Firestone
Segment Director: Sidney Beaumont
Consulting Producer: Antha Williams
Archival Producer: Hilary McHone
“Dark as a Dungeon” performed by John Mellencamp