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May 30, 2025
We're wrapping up our spring calendar at the Black Cat House. In honor of May Day, the real Labor Day for most of the world, we're watching a classic movie about one of the many bloody episodes in U.S. labor history. Our May film will be Matewan, which was first released in 1987 from director John Sayles. Sayles has had a unique career in Hollywood, directing movies like Eight Men Out and Honeydripper as well as several classic music videos for Bruce Springsteen (including "Born in the USA"). Matewan stars Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, and Mary McDonnell.
The movie is a dramatization of a 1920 coal miners' strike in West Virginia. That strike culminated in the "Battle of Matewan", a major shootout between the striking miners and the private detectives hired by the mine bosses. Matewan has developed a reputation as a cult classic and one of the finest representations of the labor struggle ever committed to film.
Discussion will follow the movie.
As always, this event is free and open to the public. The Black Cat House welcomes all ages, and is a drug and alcohol-free venue. To help keep everyone safe and healthy, we ask that all guests wear face masks in our space. We are wheelchair accessible.