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"The Barn Raisers" Screens on a Celebrity Alaskan Cruise as Part of Film Festival at Sea

Barns on a ship? That's right!  The award-winning "The Barn Raisers" was one of 3 films featured at the Newport Beach Film Festival at Sea! 

The festival embarked on its first Film Festival at Sea with Celebrity Cruises on board the Solstice ship on a round trip from Seattle to Alaska.

"We're so proud of our filmmakers and our programming team and grateful to everyone who had a part in making this a successful voyage!" said Gregg Schwenk, NBFF Executive Director.

Several festival attendees posted reactions to the event on social media:

"Thank you for the wonderful time on the cruise, my family and I had so much fun. All three movies were fabulous. Hope to cruise with you again sometime!" 

"We just got off the boat...fabulous cruise and the highlight was the film festival...what a treat!!!"

"The Barn Raisers" is getting around, and we have our wonderful supporters and fans to thank for it!

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The Barn Raisers tells the story of barns in the Midwest by examining them through the lens of architecture.  The film explores what building methods, barn styles, and materials tell us about the people who built them, the life they lived, and the role these “country cathedrals” played in the settling and building of the Nation.  The Barn Raisers is a companion film to Kelly and Tammy Rundles’ Emmy® nominated historical documentary Country School: One Room – One Nation.

The Barn Raisers was partially funded by grants from Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, Humanities Iowa, the Kansas Humanities Council, the Michigan Barn Preservation Network, the Ohio Humanities Council, the National Barn Alliance, and the Wisconsin Humanities Council, the Moline Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Jackson County.  Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this documentary film and program do not necessarily reflect those of the organizations.

The Rundles, of Fourth Wall Films, are the producers of the regional Emmy® nominated historical documentaries Country School: One Room – One Nation, River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6, and Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT-PBS).

To order a copy of The Barn Raisers DVD, click HERE!

“The Barn Raisers” Showcased at Ohnward during Pioneer Day Oct. 1

The Gehlen Barn in St. Donatus, Iowa is featured in The Barn Raisers.

The Barn Raisers, a new documentary by Mid-America Emmy® nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, will be featured as the final event during the annual Jackson County Historical Society’s Pioneer Day on Sunday, October 1, 2017.  The film will screen at 4:00 p.m. at the Ohnward Fine Arts Center, 1215 E Platt Street in Maquoketa with Q&A with the filmmakers following the one-hour documentary.

This year’s Pioneer Day: “Barns and Farms” is held at the Jackson County Fairgrounds, 1212 E Quarry Street in Maquoketa and features exhibits, barn quilt and historical barn building demonstrations, a tractor rodeo, kids activities and crafts, wagon rides, tours, food and more from 10:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Pioneer Day tickets are $5/pp (kids under 12 free) at the Fairgrounds and include all Pioneer Day festivities and The Barn Raisers film event.  Admission to the film only is $10/pp at the Ohnward box office. 

A myriad of farm cats from the Ruchotzke Barn made a special appearance in The Barn Raisers

The award-winning The Barn Raisers tells the story of barns in the Midwest by examining them through the lens of architecture.  The film explores what building methods, barn styles, and materials tell us about the people who built them, the life they lived, and the role these “country cathedrals” played in the settling and building of the Nation.  The Barn Raisers is a companion film to the Rundles’ Emmy® nominated historical documentary Country School: One Room – One Nation.

“How could we create something from practically nothing with just a handful of tools and no drawings? The answer is in the barns,” said Rudy Christian, a traditional timber framer and barn preservationist from Burbank, Ohio.

Barns were constructed by farmer-craftsmen, professional builders who traveled from job to job and even architects like Frank Lloyd Wright.  The Barn Raisers paints a cinematic portrait of barns and builders, an important way of life that has been largely forgotten, and the film reminds us that these remnants from America’s rural past are still here to be interpreted and experienced.

Interviewing Laurel Williams and Lori Evilsizer about the family Stromeyer Barn located in Jackson County.

Numerous barns from Jackson County and Iowa appear in the film, including the Gehlen barn located in the Luxembourg village of St. Donatus--arguable one of Iowa's oldest structures.

“These barns are a part of the history of American immigration,” said artist Jeremy Marlow who owns the Marlow-Saak Barn located in Waukon, Iowa. The barn is featured on the film’s poster.  “It’s really sad to see these things fall down at an alarming rate.”  It is estimated that Iowa loses over 1,000 vintage barns annually.

"The Barn Raisers" Jackson County production assistant Caroline Bredekamp arranged filming in numerous barns in the Jackson County area, including Roger Stewart's barn.

In addition to Iowa, The Barn Raisers features stories from Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The special Ohnward screening of The Barn Raisers is sponsored in part by the Jackson County Historical Society, Bellevue State Bank, Fidelity Bank, Roeder Bros, Wells Heating & AC, Franzen Family Tractor, Kunau Implement and Maquoketa State Bank.

The Barn Raisers was partially funded by grants from Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, Humanities Iowa, the Kansas Humanities Council, the Michigan Barn Preservation Network, the Ohio Humanities Council, the National Barn Alliance, and the Wisconsin Humanities Council, the Moline Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Jackson County.  Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this documentary film and program do not necessarily reflect those of the organizations.

The Rundles are the producers of the regional Emmy® nominated historical documentaries Country School: One Room – One Nation, River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6, and Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT-PBS).

To order a copy of The Barn Raisers DVD, click HERE!

Special Silos & Smokestacks Bus & Barn Tour Features "The Barn Raisers" Sept. 16

SILOS & SMOKESTACKS BUS TOUR: “THE MEANING OF BARNS IN AGRICULTURE”

Join Silos & Smokestacks for a bus tour through Northeast Iowa.  Visit three historic barns, a bonus stop at a winery and along the way enjoy the documentary, The Barn Raisers.

Participants will receive a tour and lunch at Tyden Farm No. 6 in Dougherty, before going on to Harriman-Nielsen Historic Farm in Hampton, Eagle City Winery in Iowa Falls and finally Hardin County Farm Museum in Eldora. All farms and barns featured on the tour are designated Silos & Smokestacks Partner Sites.

The Barn Raisers, is an award-winning documentary film that examines the iconic architecture of barns. The film sets the stage for a larger conversation about farm life and rural culture in the Midwest.  Kelly and Tammy Rundle from Fourth Wall Films, producers of the documentary, will join the bus tour to give live commentary about the documentary, the sites visited and look into the history, culture and creativity of the historic barns that dot Iowa’s countryside.

Tyden Farm No. 6 owner Ted Pitzenberger and The Barn Raisers' director Kelly Rundle.

“We are excited to partner with Fourth Wall Films and to share three of our partner sites that are actually featured in the film,” said Silos & Smokestacks President Cara Miller.

Cost is $20 person and in addition to lunch, includes complimentary Iowa wine and cheese samples on the bus and an official Silos & Smokestacks bag.  The bus will leave downtown Waterloo at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 16 and return at 5:30 p.m. Register online at silosandsmoketacks.org/bustour or call (319) 234-4567.

The project is supported, in part, by the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.

Through a network of sites, programs and events, Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area tells the story of farm life and agribusiness—past and present. Visitors can learn about and experience agriculture at a variety of museums, historic sites, and farms. One of 49 federally designated heritage areas in the nation, Silos & Smokestacks is an Affiliated Area of the National Park Service. The heritage area covers 37 counties in the northeast quadrant of Iowa.

The Barn Raisers was partially funded by grants from Humanities Iowa, Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, the Kansas Humanities Council, the Ohio Humanities Council, the Wisconsin Humanities Council, the Michigan Barn Preservation Network, the National Barn Alliance/Russ & LuAnn Mawby, the Moline Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Jackson County.  Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this documentary film and program do not necessarily reflect those of these organizations.

Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films are the producers of The Barn Raisers, and the regional Emmy® nominated historical documentaries Country School: One Room – One Nation, River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6, and Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT-PBS), and the award-winning Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg (co-produced with Garry McGee), Lost Nation: The Ioway series, and Villisca: Living with a Mystery.

To order the award-winning The Barn Raisers DVD visit http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.

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