That’s the Breaks: Documentary chronicles significant natural area on Virginia-Kentucky border

There are a lot of gorgeous mountain vistas between here and the Breaks Interstate Park on the Virginia-Kentucky border, so we might not make it up that way all that often. But it looks to be well worth the trip from the portrait painted by the new hourlong documentary “The Breaks: Centuries of Struggle.”

Daniel Boone discovered a rare passage through the 125-mile stretch of Pine Mountain in 1767 and dubbed it “The Breaks.” The park covers 4,500 acres to the east of Elkhorn City, Kentucky. It holds a curiously significant place, however, both geographically and culturally, for the mountainous region.

Breaks Canyon is one of the deepest in the eastern United States, cut into the rock and earth in a near-complete loop by the waters of the Russell Fork River. The park sits within an expanse of relatively unspoiled Appalachian wilderness, full of a rich biodiversity of globally rare species and woodlands.

Mike Rowe, of “Dirty Jobs” and “Deadliest Catch” fame, narrates the film as it spotlights the park’s namesake river-gorge, Breaks Canyon; a history of multiple local industries; and the people who made their home there and influenced its eventual designation as one of only two interstate parks in the country.

Beautiful aerial photography by Ryan Mullins, of nearby Grundy, Virginia, shows off the unique topography of the canyon, with its centerpiece ridge known as The Towers and nearby mountain topped by a rocky “Chimney.” The aerial shots are mixed in with videos and “Ken Burns-style” panned photos that show the evolution of the Russell Fork River. What started as an impassable “bowl” full of boulders became a lucrative logging river with an adjacent railroad pass that served the logging and coal industries.

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The visual story is expanded upon and personalized through interviews with people involved in the park’s official 1954 designation and their descendants. The first half of the film sets the scene for the park’s creation with extensive historic detail on early 20th-century logging operations, moonshining and the establishment of the railroad. It’s a highly localized story that speaks to the entire history of the United States.

The interviewees all offer valuable insight on the “then and now” of the area, but current park superintendent Austin Bradley stands out as a real “voice of the park” in the documentary. His job has earned him an extensive knowledge about The Breaks, and he relates this with humor and aplomb. I found myself wanting to hear more of his historic tales and descriptions of the landscape and wildlife.

The last segment of the documentary chronicles the river’s current popularity as a whitewater rafting and kayaking venue. While somewhat tamed in years past by the logging industry, the Russell Fork River still has a powerful flow, and many twists and turns for the adventurous river rat. The filmmakers again succeed in personalizing this part of the park’s history. An experienced and well-loved kayaker named Jon Lord — who had journeyed through the canyon hundreds of times — lost his life in the rapids. In his memory, an annual river race is now called “Lord of the Fork.”

“The Breaks: Centuries of Struggle” was produced by Friends of Breaks Park in collaboration with the University of Pikeville. Professor Andrew Reed, director of film and media arts at the university, co-directed the film with Curt Mullins Jr.

Will MacMorran produced the musical score, which was performed by faculty members of the Blue Grass, Old Time, and Country Music program at East Tennessee State University. Authors Donald Edward Davis, Kathy Shearer and Ned Irwin; archaeologist Tom Klatka; former Gov. Paul Patton; and other numerous residents of the region contributed to the film. It’s also notable that Yedidya Kereta, of Boy Scout Troop 740 in Grundy, Virginia, used his work on the project to satisfy his final Eagle Scout project requirement.

The documentary is scheduled to debut at 8 p.m. Thursday April 5 on Nashville PBS and 4 p.m. Sunday April 8 on East Tennessee PBS.