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When Lee & Joy Pennington began JoLe Productions in 1990, their concept was to use as little and as small equipment as possible in order to be able to
get into places and capture stories that otherwise might be missed. Throughout the world, many of the “old things” and “old ways
” were disappearing. It was on those things that soon would be lost that they focused their attention.
Producing A Documentary:
In producing a documentary, the Penningtons always do extensive research. “That’s just part of our
method,” says Lee. “We read hundreds of books and articles and visit museums and talk with people. By the time we actually put the piece together,
we’ve generally got enough information for a half dozen or more documentaries.”
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In Search of the Mudmen:
With not much more than an 8mm video camera, they made their way into the jungles of Papua New Guinea where they filmed their first piece,
In Search of the Mudmen (1990). “It was very exciting,” the couple recall. “It felt like stepping back
into the stone age and being able to get on film rituals and scenes that were thousands of years old.”
“The footage is pretty bad compared to today’s standards,” says Lee laughing, “but it’s still a piece we’re both fond of. In a sense it was a disappearing
moment caught in time. We’re proud of that even if the piece is a bit shaky and fuzzy.”
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The Gospel Ship:
Not all of the Penningtons’ documentaries have been done on exotic places. Their second production was The Gospel Ship, an interview with
Lee’s mother who was 92 years old at the time. “She was born in 1900,” says Lee. “She lived through the entire 20th Century and had witnessed the coming of
automobiles, airplanes, radio, television, and computers. Her insight on so many things was just exceptional.”
Verne Spratt Keeper of the Stones, 1992; Cliffs of Mystery; and Good Roads, Good Water: The Life of Verne Spratt:
They also did three documentaries on a disabled West Virginia coal miner who had moved to Eastern Kentucky in the 1950’s and had some
ancient, mysterious stone works on his land. Verne Spratt was the subject of: Verne Spratt: Keeper of the Stones
(1992) and Cliffs of Mystery (1992) and Good Roads, Good
Water: The Life of Verne Spratt (1996).
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Petroglyphs of Polynesia:
The South Pacific called them back on several occasions and resulted in Petroglyphs of Polynesia
(1992) and Sinoto: Polynesian Legend (1993). “I think,” says Lee, “it was during this
time we began to sense the overwhelming force of synchronicity. For example, we were on the island of Raiatea and were looking for someone who could talk
about petroglyphs. Not only did we find someone, we found a person, Johnny Brotherson, who could read the petroglyphs, something archaeologists said no one
could do. Johnny took us into the mountains, and we filmed petroglyphs that fewer than twenty people in the 20th Century had even seen.”
“Also, on the island of Huahina we were trying to find someone who could talk to us on camera about the marae, the outdoor temples of the ancient
Polynesians.
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So who shows up but the famous archaeologist, Yoshihiko Sinoto, the very person who had reconstructed all the maraes on the island! Sinoto
spent four days going with us around the island and explaining his work.
Wales: History in Bondage:
In 1995 JoLe Productions released Wales: History in Bondage a piece that focuses on
the English destruction and cover-up of Welsh history, including some rather clear evidence that Wales’ most famous native son, King Arthur, was real and not
some imaginary figure. According the Welsh records, Arthur was the brother of another “legendary” figure—Prince Madoc.
Prince Madoc: Fact or Fiction:
In 1997 JoLe Productions released Prince Madoc: Fact or Fiction.
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Secret of the Stones:
1997 took the Penningtons to South America where they filmed Secret of the Stones, an exploration in search of Viracocha, the bearded stranger who came from the sea and brought civilization to the South Americans.
At Tiahuanaco, in Bolivia, the Penningtons found evidence that a great civilization flourished there 17,000 years ago! Following the lead of Thor Heyerdahl,
their work in South America pointed them toward Easter Island, perhaps the most remote inhabited piece of land on the planet. Researchers still haven’t been
able to solve to everyone’s satisfaction just how the natives transported the megalithic statues around the island. “We made two film trips to Easter
Island,” says Lee, “one in 1997 and another in December-January at the Millennium change. “We spent so much time at the archaeological sites that the moai
actually felt like they had become our friends.
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The Mound Builders:
Tenacity has also been a part of the Penningtons’ experience. They spent ten years and drove more than 10,000 miles filming
The Mound Builders (2001). “At the time,” says Joy, “we were teaching. So we took weekends and summers to go
do the filming” (Lee and Joy taught nearly forty years in Kentucky before retiring from the University of Kentucky Jefferson Community College in Louisville
in 1999). “The Mound Builders is pretty special to us,” says Lee, “not only because of the amount of time
we spent on it. But people tell us it’s the most comprehensive thing ever done on the subject.”
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The Serpent Fort: Solving the Mystery of Fort Mountain, Georgia:
One such research project took them high in the mountains of North Georgia where a thousand foot long stone structure has for years
baffled professionals and amateurs alike.
Who built the wall and when, and what was its purpose, have long been the subject of speculation. Some say the wall was built by Indians; others say it was
built by Europeans, in particular, by a group of Welshmen led by Prince Madoc. The Cherokee simply say the wall was built by a “moon-eyed” people.
The Penningtons made several trips to the wall and actually stayed on Fort Mountain to film and study it. Their research led to a major discovery as to what
the wall is and what was the wall’s purpose. In 2005 they completed The Serpent Fort: Solving the Mystery of Fort Mountain, Georgia,
a documentary that answers some major questions concerning the wall.
The Depot Museum, a Walking Tour of Fort Payne’s Unique Piece of History:
In 2006 they finished The Depot Museum, A Walking Tour of Fort Payne’s Unique Piece of History
(done exclusively for the Ft. Payne, AL Depot Museum).
Tunnel of Time, A Tribute to Marion Dahm:
They also completed Tunnel of Time, A Tribute to Marion Dahm, a grassroots Viking
researcher who spent more than half of his life gathering evidence to prove his hypothesis.
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What are the Penningtons working on now?:
“For the past six years we’ve been researching and filming a piece called, Seafaring Strangers: Vikings in
America.
“We think there is ample evidence to place Norsemen into the interior of the continent long before Columbus.”
Already the couple have spent several months filming in the upper Midwest and other parts of the U.S., one summer filming in Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway,
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Greenland) and 28 days during the past autumn filming in Newfoundland and Labrador. “We think we have some very strong evidence for
the Viking premise,” says Lee.
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When will the piece be finished?
“The project is much greater than we originally anticipated,” says Lee. We’ve already spent more time on this piece than any we’ve done
except The Mound Builders.
“At first we thought we’d have one 50 minute piece. Now it looks like we’re going to have three 50 minute segments. The Viking project has kind of taken on a
life on its own.”
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What else are they working on?
As usual, the Penningtons have other irons in the fire, for example, a projected film concerning the ancient copper mining that took place
on Isle Royal and in the UP of Michigan.
“We’ve been researching the copper mining for a couple of years and have done some filming. The more we get into it, the more exciting it becomes.”
And they’ve also started working on a piece about Fred Rydholm, an energetic, historical storyteller from the Michigan Copper Country.
Fred is amazing,” says Lee. “When he walks into a room, he breathes new life into it. People travel miles just to hear him speak.”
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And?
Well, let’s just say there are other things. The couple is constantly on the lookout for new ideas hoping always to capture that special
something before it’s forever lost.
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Documentaries produced
- In Search of the Mudmen, 1990
- The Gospel Ship, 1991.
- Verne Spratt Keeper of the Stones, 1992.
- Cliffs of Mystery, 1992.
- The Ticking Lizard, 1992.
- Petroglyphs of Polynesia, 1992.
- Sinoto Polynesian Legend, 1993.
- Out of the Way Places: Cutlass Bay Club, Cat Island, 1994.
- Wales: History in Bondage, 1995
- Good Roads, Good Water: The Life of Verne Spratt, 1996
- Prince Madoc: Fact or Fiction, 1997
- Secret of the Stones, 1998
- Stones That Whisper, 1998
- Easter Island’s Hotel Gomero: A Family Affair, 2000
- The Mound Builders, 2001
- Eyes That Look at the Sky: the Mystery of Easter Island, 2001
- Tell City: The First Fifty Years, 2003
- The Serpent Fort (Solving the Mystery of Fort Mountain, GA), 2005
- The Depot Museum: Fort Payne’s Unique Piece of History, 2006
- Tunnel of Time (A Tribute to Marion Dahm), 2006
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