What better way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the award-winning Country School: One Room - One Nation, than with the film's fans, family, friends, country school "kids" and teachers!
The Emmy® nominated documentary will be showcased in a Special 10th Anniversary Virtual Screening event on Sunday, November 22, 3:00-5:00 p.m. Q&A with filmmakers Tammy and Kelly Rundle will follow the film presentation.
More details will be posted on the virtual screening and how to attend soon.
The Rundles spent two years visiting over 70 one-room schools in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, and gathered over 80 hours of interviews, vistas, and historic sites shot in all four seasons and distilled it down to a feature-length documentary that tells the dramatic true story of the life, death, and rebirth of one-room schools in the Upper Midwest.
“They did what they were supposed to do,” said historian Dorothy Schwieder. “There was a time when they met the needs of society. There was also a time when they ceased to meet the needs of society.”
Along with the expected nostalgia, the Rundles’ journey revealed a few surprises: guns in school, bullying, lunch-stealing ponies, weather disasters, a country school designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and the passion former students, teachers, and preservationists have for these sometimes forgotten and neglected little schools.
Country School also takes a closer look at rural schools and how they attempted to unify American immigrants during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
“One-room schools are a page in American history that is turning, and perhaps in another generation or two, there will be no one left to tell the story,” said writer Bill Samuelson.
Film critic Linda Cook, Quad City Times, gave the film 4-out-of-4 stars and wrote: "Another documentary gem...vivid and fascinating."
Film reviewer Mike Schulz of the River Cities Reader wrote, "Country School emerges as a definitive portrait of education in a one-room environment, a work that's every bit as informative, engaging and impassioned as those telling its tales."
The film features the popular toe-tapping music by the Just 4 Fun All Girl Band. The group of talented mature ladies performed at the premiere of the film at the State Historical Building in Des Moines December 2010. The film sold out premiere night and enjoyed packed theaters opening weekend.
Country School: One Room – One Nation received a regional Emmy® nomination in 2012. The documentary has received numerous awards at film festivals, screened over 100 times all over the country, was broadcast on PBS stations and released nationally on DVD.
"At the time we were in production on the documentary, we did not realize that the finished film would ultimately be embraced as a tribute to teachers," said director Kelly Rundle.
"I can't think of a better outcome than honoring those who work hard and are passionately dedicated to educating our young people," said producer Tammy Rundle. "It is hard to believe it has been ten years. We have learned so much through Country School, and we've met so many fantastic people--many who have remained friends these many years later."
Country School: One Room – One Nation was funded in part by Humanities Iowa, Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, the Wisconsin Humanities Council, Kansas Humanities Council, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Kelly and Tammy Rundle, of Fourth Wall Films, are the producers of four regional Emmy® nominated films including Country School: One Room - One Nation, Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City, River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6, and Letters Home to Hero Street; and over a dozen award-winning documentaries including the Lost Nation: The Ioway 1, 2 & 3 series, Villisca: Living with a Mystery, The Barn Raisers, Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg. All of their DVD titles are available at FourthWallFilms.com.
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