About

Known credits:
34
Birthday:
N/A
Place of birth:
Abingdon, Virginia, USA
Website:
Click here

Elaine McMillion Sheldon

Overview

Elaine McMillion Sheldon is an Academy Award-nominated, Peabody-winning, and two-time Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker from Logan County, West Virginia. Her films explore life in Appalachia through personal and political lenses, covering topics such as coal’s cultural legacy, the opioid crisis, rural deindustrialization, incarceration, and environmental justice.

Her latest feature documentary, KING COAL, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and was named a New York Times Critics’ Pick and one of the year’s best documentaries by Esquire and Marie Claire. The film screened at over 40 international festivals, had a 50-city theatrical run, and aired nationally on PBS’ POV in 2024.

Sheldon directed two Netflix Original Documentaries, HEROIN(E) and RECOVERY BOYS, both focused on addiction and recovery in West Virginia. HEROIN(E) was nominated for a 2018 Academy Award and won a News & Documentary Emmy. Her other notable works include TUTWILER (PBS Frontline & The Marshall Project), COAL’S DEADLY DUST (Frontline & NPR), and the interactive project HOLLOW, which won a Peabody Award.

She is a Guggenheim Fellow, Creative Capital Awardee, USA Fellow, and was inducted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2024. Her work has been supported by Field of Vision, The New York Times Op-Docs, TEDWomen, and others. She has appeared on The Daily Show, Meet the Press, and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.

Sheldon earned her B.S. in journalism from West Virginia University and her M.F.A. from Emerson College. She lives in West Virginia with her husband and collaborator Curren Sheldon, with whom she co-runs Grounded Theory, a creative studio rooted in the Appalachian Mountains.

Known for

Acting
2023 King Coal Actor Narrator (voice) 58
Average

Directing
2023 King Coal Directing Director 58
Average
2021 My Love: Six Stories of True Love Directing Director 69
Fair
2019 Tutwiler Directing Director N/A
N/A
2019 Coal's Deadly Dust Directing Director N/A
N/A
2018 Recovery Boys Directing Director 58
Average
2017 11/8/16 Directing Director 59
Average
2017 Heroin(e) Directing Director 60
Fair
2017 TIMBERLINE Directing Director N/A
N/A
2013 West Virginia, Still Home Directing Director N/A
N/A
Mother Jones Directing Director N/A
N/A
Hollow Directing Director N/A
N/A

Writing
2023 King Coal Writing Writer 58
Average
2019 Coal's Deadly Dust Writing Writer N/A
N/A
Hollow Writing Writer N/A
N/A

Production
2024 Beat Down Production Producer 58
Average
2023 Troublesome Creek Production Co-Producer N/A
N/A
2023 King Coal Production Producer 58
Average
2019 Tutwiler Production Producer N/A
N/A
2019 Coal's Deadly Dust Production Producer N/A
N/A
2018 Recovery Boys Production Producer 58
Average
2017 Heroin(e) Production Producer 60
Fair
2013 West Virginia, Still Home Production Producer N/A
N/A
Hollow Production Producer N/A
N/A

Sound
2023 King Coal Sound Boom Operator 58
Average

Camera
2023 Troublesome Creek Camera Additional Camera N/A
N/A
2023 King Coal Camera Additional Camera 58
Average
2019 Tutwiler Camera Director of Photography N/A
N/A
2018 Phantom Cowboys Camera Additional Photography 58
Average

Crew
Hollow Crew Cinematography N/A
N/A

Editing
2023 King Coal Editing Co-Editor 58
Average
2019 Tutwiler Editing Editor N/A
N/A
2013 West Virginia, Still Home Editing Editor N/A
N/A
Hollow Editing Editor N/A
N/A