FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WOAY) – Anthony Greene, an Oak Hill native, graduated from Marshall University last Spring. At the age of 22, he has started his own video production company called The Folkway that highlights unique businesses, people and places in Southern West Virginia.
“When I was a lot younger, I always thought that, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna move out to New York or Los Angeles or something and be a filmmaker but then as I got older, I realized that home is more important to me and West Virginia and the Appalachian region was really important to me, and I realized that I don’t really want to do that anymore,” Greene said. “I want to stay here, maybe not necessarily in Oak Hill or Fayetteville, but I want to stay in the area and hopefully try my best to make it work here.”
And that’s what he does. He highlights others who are also trying their best to make it work here by creating videos that showcase the uniqueness of the area and the people who live here.
In March, he plans on taking the production business one step forward by joining his brother to start a Folkway Film Festival that will take place at Cathedral Cafe in Fayetteville.
“Really, the only thing to qualify is you have to be from the region and the film has to be from the region, so one of the 13 states in Appalachia, West Virginia, you know, all of them. So as long as you are from the region and as long as the film is in the region, you can submit the film to the event. And hopefully you get accepted and I’m excited to see the work,” Greene said.
He wanted to make that the goal of the festival and his everyday work as he hopes to shine a light on a misunderstood region.
“Not just focusing on all of the struggles that we go through but also all of the great things that happen here as well and that’s something that’s really important to me, just trying to help propel the region and tell the stories, the great human stories that we have here that are really influential and make a big difference in the region.”
The film festival will take place at 7 p.m. at Cathedral Cafe on March 18. If you want to watch some of the videos he has created so far, click here.
