A Beast Touch the Mountain

Shot over the course of a year in Bent Mountain, Virginia, A BEAST TOUCH THE MOUNTAIN follows a band of Appalachian women in Bent Mountain, Virginia in their decade-long fight to protect their land and way of life against a greedy and corrupt natural gas pipeline corporation that threatens the environment and the lives of tens of thousands throughout Virginia and West Virginia.

Director James Mottern is an award-winning screenwriter and director, originally from Virginia. After spending several decades in the Los Angeles indie film world, the Bent Mountain pipeline was brought to his attention by producer Diana Harrington, and Mottern was captivated by the story of women in Southwest Virginia, who, with the help of hundreds of others throughout Appalachia, had fought off a pipeline for a decade with little experience and few resources.

After a private screening for the citizens of Bent Mountain, the film premiered January 11th, 2025 at the Saint Augustine Film Festival.