The Country Dwellers is a virtual reality film which explores the tradition of healer women of the South Eastern region of the United States and their practices of folk magic, midwifery, and herbalism. The film investigates how these women viewed themselves, how they were viewed in their communities, and how these historical practices have shaped contemporary American Southern culture.
The documentary traces the lives of communities based in the Appalachian regions of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia. These traditions are not only imported from Europe, but they are also a blend of spiritual practices from Indigenous and Black communities in the South. The experimental documentary also looks at the current reemergence and acceptance of folkways and how they still exist alongside the mainstream as a thriving form of spirituality and culture.
Extensive archival research for the film has been conducted in the archives of the FoxFire Institute in Rabun Gap, Georgia.
