Pamplin subject of documentary

Published 1:01 pm Thursday, June 13, 2019

Pamplin City and efforts to revitalize it are at the center of a new documentary being shown in the town this weekend.

“Hope’s City,” the documentary, “explores the history of and revitalization efforts undertaken by Pamplin City, VA after it was added to the Virginia Endangered Historic Places list in 2014,” according to a release. Pamplin was also featured in a 2011 book, “Lost Communities of Virginia” by Terri Fisher and Kirsten Sparenborg.

The film will be show at the Pamplin Train Depot on Saturday, 5 p.m at 115 Main St. in Pamplin. The showing is free of charge.

Email newsletter signup

A sold-out showing of the documentary will take place in Ashburn on Saturday, June 22, from 1-4 p.m. at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema One Loundoun.

A release from Mary Hinds with Pamplin Area Legacy Supporters (PALS) cited that the original idea for the film was to document how a town or community could become lost. Filmmaker Ricardo M. Fleshman, Hinds said, picked Pamplin as the focus of the documentary and met with Sarah Hamlett of the Town Council and Regina Schwabe of PALS.

“After interviewing new local business owners, the Town Council, PALS and other community members he decided to change the angle to how a lost town becomes revived,” Hinds said. “We decided this is truly a gift.”