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"The Barn Raisers" Film Inspires

The Barn Raiser film inspires memories of beloved barns

By Karen Bernick

The Barn Raisers filmmakers Tammy and Kelly Rundle at the premiere at the Putnam Museum in Davenport, Iowa.

Last Sunday Dan and I went to see The Barn Raisers, an excellent, new documentary by Emmy® nominated Quad Cities filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films.

The film brings to life vintage barns in Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. But The Barn Raisers isn’t just a lesson in Midwestern folk architecture. Through interviews with barn owners, writers, historians, craftsmen and preservationists, plus historic photos, vintage film reels and new footage taken at historic barns, the film weaves together stories of the barns and the people that built them. It introduced many barns, including a small show barn built circa 1915 at the C.G. Good Farm in Ogden, IA, to house Belgian champion “Farceur.” The film also featured a round barn outside of Davenport, and a Frank Lloyd Wright barn that’s part of the Taliesin Preservation in Spring Green, WI, plus many more.

The Rundles, who were present at the showing we watched at the Putnam Museum in Davenport, say they hope their movie will instill a greater sense of appreciation for barns and their importance in heartland history.

Read the rest ofKaren Loves Country's Blog post HERE!

Order the award-winning The Barn Raisers on DVD at http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.

The 1871 Flynn Barn at Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa--a Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area partner site.

The Barn Raisers was partially funded by grants 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/Russ & Lu Ann Mawby, 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 these organizations.

Fiscal sponsors for the project are Kansas Public Telecommunications Service, Inc., the Kansas Barn Alliance, Friends of Ohio Barns, Richland County Historical Society and the Jackson County Iowa Historical Society.

The Rundles are the producers of the regional Emmy® nominated historical documentaries Becoming Harriet Beecher Stowe, Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City, 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).

Order the award-winning The Barn Raisers on DVD at http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.

Film Critic Linda Cook Gives 4-out-of-4 Stars to "The Barn Raisers"

Putnam Giant Screen gets ready for Fourth Wall Films' "The Barn Raisers".

The Barn Raisers premieres on January 28, 2017 on the Putnam National Geographic Giant Screen, 1717 W. 12th St., Davenport, Iowa. The Barley House Band, whose music is featured in the film, will perform beginning at 5:45 p.m. The film premieres at 6:30 p.m. with Q&A with film guests following. Advanced tickets are strongly recommended at Putnam.org/Calendar!

 

Linda Cook, Film Critic
Quad City Times
Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Documentaries are my favorite genre of film. Great documentaries, like this one, entertain, teach us about the human condition and help us see the world in a different way.

“The Barn Raisers,” by Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Moline-based Fourth Wall Films, is a tribute not only to Midwestern history, but also the people who first set down roots in the Midwest and built the “folk architecture” known as barns.

The movie focuses on what barn settings, styles, methods and materials tell about the people who built them, the life they lived and the role the buildings played in settling and expanding the United States, especially in the Midwest.

First, the beauty of the barns is depicted in all their glory, from cobwebs to cathedral-like environments. The film, with its gentle images of a variety of barns — many of them stunning — and the people who loves them is worth seeing just for the imagery.

Whether you grew up on or near a farm, you’ll enjoy hearing people — many of whom are direct descendants of barn tenders and builders — talk about the structures which include an incredible barn designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Read the rest of Linda Cook's review by clicking HERE!

The Barn Raisers was partially funded by grants 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/Russ & Lu Ann Mawby, 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 these organizations.

Fiscal sponsors for the project are Kansas Public Telecommunications Service, Inc., the Kansas Barn Alliance, Friends of Ohio Barns, Richland County Historical Society and the Jackson County Iowa Historical Society.

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).

Film Reviewer: 'Barn Raisers' paints beautiful portrait of rural America

We are pleased to share the following review by Dispatch-Argus film critic Jonathan Turner.  It is our first "thumbs up" for The Barn Raisers, and we could not be more pleased.

The Barn Raisers premieres on January 28, 2017 on the Putnam National Geographic Giant Screen, 1717 W. 12th St., Davenport, Iowa. The Barley House Band, whose music is featured in the film, will perform beginning at 5:45 p.m. The film premieres at 6:30 p.m. with Q&A with film guests following. Advanced tickets are strongly recommended at Putnam.org/Calendar!

Jonathan Turner
Dispatch-Argus
January 20, 2017

Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Moline-based Fourth Wall Films certainly know how to make history.

The prolific, award-winning husband-and-wife team make history come alive — and make the inarguable case for historic preservation — through intelligent, insightful, expertly crafted documentaries on important subjects that have Midwest connections.

They reveal the height of their expressive, compassionate cinematic powers with their latest, "The Barn Raisers," which tells the story of barns in the Upper Midwest through the loving lens of architecture. 

Filmed in Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Kansas, the ambitious and observant canvas (stretching a bit under an hour) paints a mesmerizing picture of how barn styles, building methods and materials reflect the people who built them, the life they lived, and the role these “country cathedrals” played in settling and building the nation, according to a Fourth Wall summary.

That religious theme is explored occasionally in this meaningful, affecting portrait. It serenely starts with sounds of birds, then majestic organ music, accompanying the painterly images. That's fitting as "Barn Raisers" feels like a hymn to the solemn beauty and importance of these buildings, and the Rundles treat them with the reverence they deserve.

Read the rest of the review HERE!