Waco Independent Film Festival 2026
Greetings again from the darkness. It’s such a treat when a film sneaks up and surprises you with such emotional depth that you not only feel like you know the characters, but you also want to stick around and see how they do over the next few years. The first feature film from writer-director A.R. Ephraim does just that, leaving me so touched by what I’d just watched, yet saddened that my connection with Jolene was over.
Louisa Harland (HAMNET, 2025) delivers a quietly powerful performance as Jolene, a young woman working in the coal mines of Harlan County, Kentucky. She has been supporting her two sisters since their parents passed away. Sixteen-year-old Lara (Emma Duchesneau) is in love with local boy Judd (Braden Bell), who is not the sharpest tool in the drawer. Six-year-old Emmy (newcomer Shelby Mullins) is sweet and smart, and benefitting from Jolene’s life lessons on cooking, fishing, and shooting.
When Lara tells Lou that she’s getting married to Judd, the reaction is just what you would expect from a protective sister who sees the bigger picture. Lou works the nightshift at the mines. She packs a lunch for 2-3 days, “just in case”, and comes home daily to wash the ground-in coal dust off her body. Unfortunately, the weight of her life does not rinse off so easily. Miners’ attitude towards working women isn’t much better than the small town attitude towards a gay woman raising kids. Lou’s relationship with Kylie (Alice Kremelberg, “The Boroughs”) is the worst kept secret in town, yet the two women seem good for each other.
The film opens with a gentle overview via drone of the beaten down mining town, and later Lou states, “all these buildings used to be something.” Lou is tough, but she’s also an incredibly giving and caring person. She’s the kind of friend or sister you want … she’ll even stick up for a loved one in a bar fight. When Kylie decides she’s ‘gotta get outta here’ (the way small town often folks do), Lou has a decision to make. What we witness is the difference between sacrifice and responsibilities. That difference is love … and proof that family is borne from the heart. A.R. Ephraim has created a film that will stick with me for a while.
Movie Reviews from the Dark 