ROCKLAND — The Criterion Series, a monthly film series sponsored by The Criterion Collection, continues with a screening of Harlan County USA (1976) on Sunday, March 17, at 1 p.m., at the Strand Theatre. Criterion Series films are hosted in person by TCM (Turner Classic Movies) film presenter, and Strand Board Member Alicia Malone.

Barbara Kopple’s Academy Award–winning Harlan County USA unflinchingly documents a grueling coal miners’ strike in a small Kentucky town. With unprecedented access, Kopple and her crew captured the miners’ sometimes violent struggles with strikebreakers, local police, and company thugs.

“Featuring a haunting soundtrack—with legendary country and bluegrass artists Hazel Dickens, Merle Travis, Sarah Gunning, and Florence Reece—the film is a heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line,” said the Strand, in a news release.

The Criterion Collection was established in 1984, with a mission to preserve important classic and independent films from around the world and making them available to watch in analog and digital formats. In 2017, Criterion launched a series of original programming for the Criterion Channel called Art-House America, to showcase independently run arthouse theaters around the U.S and highlight the people and community that keep them alive. Now, with their support of the Strand Theatre, Criterion is furthering their support of community movie theaters by sponsoring a year-long series of films that will allow the Strand to screen a wide range of acclaimed, hard-to-see movies for the local audience, and turn these screenings into a fundraising event for the 100-year-old theater.

Tickets are $8/Matinee Admission, $7/Strand Members, and will be available at the box office 30 minutes prior to show time. For more information, visit www.rocklandstrand.com  or call (207) 594-0070 EX 3.

The Strand Theatre is located at 345 Main St., Rockland.