In 2008, Northern California producers/directors Julie Eisenberg and Babette Hogan determined that they would tell a political story about America.

Their travels landed them in West Virginia, where environmental and political activists battled to save their state from destruction at the hands of the extractive industries. While depicting the environmental toll on the state’s people, land, water and air, they discovered a bigger story about how one small state has a huge impact on the energy policies of the entire United States.

The film reveals a culture hammered into submission and a political system set up to hinder regulations and silence protest. In West Virginia, true reformers risk being destroyed.

The filmmakers returned to West Virginia repeatedly between 2008-2023, tracking the history of exploitation, alongside ambitious political efforts to take on the industry backed state and local politicians. The film tracks two key coal barons / politicians who exemplify the practices of politicians with conflicts of interest, US Senator and US Energy Committee Head, Joe Manchin and billionaire WV Governor, Jim Justice who is now running for U.S. Senate.

Running for the Mountains shares inspiring and heartbreaking stories of deeply tested hope in a battle for who controls the land, air and water., where we discovered a bigger story about how one small state has a huge impact on the United States’ energy policies. Working hand in hand with the extractive industries, the state’s politicians have weakened water safety regulations and actively obstructed a transition to green energy not just for their own state, but of the entire nation.