The Spirit of the People
The Spirit of the People is a Philly premiere screening of James Hollenbaugh’s 2025 documentary about photographer Shelby Lee Adams and his decades-long effort to portray the people and culture of Appalachia. Through Adams’s photographs, archival preparations, and annual returns to the hollers of Eastern Kentucky, the film explores identity, family roots, self-reliance, and a mountain culture facing gradual disappearance. The feature is presented with two additional short films.
The program includes Caleb Smith’s *Lost Horse Valley*, a three-minute Super 8 film described as an in-camera record of a place with a spirit, and Skizz Cyzyk’s *David Fair Is The King*. The eight-minute portrait follows David Fair, co-founder of the influential underground band Half Japanese, in his later life as a retired Bookmobile librarian, artist, musician, thrift-store regular, and inventive home decorator.
When: November 18, 2026
Showtimes: Doors open at 7:00 PM, with the screening beginning at 7:30 PM.
Program: *The Spirit of the People* runs 57 minutes and is followed or accompanied by *Lost Horse Valley* (3 minutes) and *David Fair Is The King* (8 minutes).
Feature: *The Spirit of the People* was directed by James Hollenbaugh and released in 2025. It is a 57-minute color, sound video work.
Short subjects: *Lost Horse Valley* was directed by Caleb Smith and released in 2020. It is a three-minute color, sound film shot on Super 8. *David Fair Is The King* was directed by Skizz Cyzyk and released in 2016. It is an eight-minute color, sound video.
Tickets: General admission has a $12.00 ticket price. With sales tax and fees, the listed all-in total is $14.96 per ticket, including $0.60 in tax, a $1.92 ticket fee, and a processing fee of up to $0.44.
Ticket sales: General admission tickets are listed for sale from October 12, 2026, at 7:31 PM through November 18, 2026, at 7:30 PM.
Purchase limit: Orders are limited to eight tickets.
Venue: PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia.
Ages: No age restriction is provided.