After being denied a promotion at the university where she teaches, Doctor Lily Penleric, a brilliant musicologist, impulsively visits her sister, who runs a struggling rural school in Appalachia. There she stumbles upon the discovery of her life -- a treasure trove of ancient Scots-Irish ballads, songs that have been handed down from generation to generation, preserved intact by the seclusion of the mountains. With the goal of securing her promotion, Lily ventures into the most isolated areas of the mountains to collect the songs and finds herself increasingly enchanted -- not only by the rugged purity of the music, but also by the raw courage and endurance of the local people as they carve out meaningful lives against the harshest conditions. It is not, however, until she meets Tom -- a handsome, hardened war veteran and talented musician -- that she's forced to examine her motivations. Is the "Songcatcher," as Tom insists, no better than the men who exploit the people and extort their land?
Production ErgoArts; Rigas Entertainment;
Cast Names Shawn Lindsay; Janet McTeer; Michael Davis; Michael Goodwin; Greg Russell Cook; Jane Adams; E. Katherine Kerr; Emmy Rossum; Pat Carroll; Stephanie Roth Haberle; Aidan Quinn; Bart Hansard; Erin Blake Clanton; David Patrick Kelly; Kristin Hall; Michael Harding; Taj Mahal; Muse Watson; Iris DeMent; Rhoda Griffis; Steve Boles; Taylor Hayes; Josh Goforth; Don Pedi; Sheila Kay Adams; Bobby McMillon; Hazel Dickens; Andrea Powell; Danny Nelson; David Ducey;
Box Office USD 3,050,934
Release Date 2000-01-25 (Sundance Film Festival) 2000-10-12 (Austin Film Festival) 2000-12-01 (limited) 2001-06-15 (Los Angeles, California) 2001-06-15 (New York City, New York)
Genres Drama; Music;
MPAA Rating [?] Rated PG-13 for sexual content and an intense scene of
childbirth.