Songcatcher

Set in 1907, musicologist Doctor Lily Penleric (McTeer) has just been denied a promotion in the male-dominated world of her university. Frustrated and determined to get academic recognition, she heads to Appalachia with a recording device and writing materials. There she joins her sister, Elna, who runs a struggling rural school.

Lily then makes a startling discovery that could change her academic career. The folk songs of Scotland and Ireland have been preserved and passed down through generations of these secluded people. She sets out to record them, but her task is not an easy one. The people are wary of her, fiercely insular and protective of their mountain ways. Arriving at a volatile time when the coal companies are vying for land and swallowing up whole communities, Lily cannot help but become involved in the struggles of these people while falling in love with Tom (Quinn), a rough local musician.