Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films have received a media grant from Humanities Iowa through their fiscal sponsor the Moline Foundation to fund a portion of the post-production work on a new "Hero Street" documentary film series.
Riding the Rails to Hero Street, the first film in the series, will tell the story of the immigrants’ journey from Mexico to Cook's Point in Davenport, Holy City in Bettendorf, Iowa, and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad train yards and boxcar homes in Silvis, Illinois. The families of Hero Street experienced both acceptance and discrimination in their new community. Around the time of the great depression, the families were removed from the rail yards and some moved box cars or built new homes on 2nd Street in Silvis. Only a block and a half long, the street lost six young men in World War II and two in the Korean War, more than any other street in America. Hero Street, as it is now known, has provided over 100 service members since World War II.
Hero Street, a multi-part documentary series by Emmy®-nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle, will explore the personal and family sagas behind each of the eight heroes and tell the compelling true story of an ongoing struggle to memorialize Tony Pompa, Frank Sandoval, William Sandoval, Claro Soliz, Peter Masias, Joseph Sandoval, Joseph Gomez and John S. Muños.
Interviews with family members, friends, veterans, community leaders and historians will be combined with vintage photos and film, and archival materials to tell an unforgettable story of American courage, character and perseverance.
"The success of Letters Home to Hero Street is proof this is more than just a local history story," said Director Kelly Rundle. "As a result, we have converted the feature-length project we've been working on since 2012 into a multi-part series that we can work on as funding becomes available."
Letters Home to Hero Street was co-produced with WQPT-PBS and received an Emmy® nomination in 2015. The film is also featured on the national PBS Learning Media website along with lesson plans for teachers.
Riding the Rails to Hero Street is slated for completion in 2019. A free Humanities Iowa Sneak Preview of the film is planned as part of the grant activities. For more information about the documentaries, visit www.HeroStreetMovie.com.
Humanities Iowa is the only non-profit organization in Iowa committed to bringing the humanities to life and to the public through interactive programming, publications, and events. The views and opinions expressed by this program do not necessarily reflect those of Humanities Iowa or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Moline Foundation was established in 1953 to encourage philanthropy and create opportunities to improve the quality of life for present and future generations in Moline, the Quad Cities area and the surrounding region.
Fourth Wall Films is an award-winning independent film production company formerly located in Los Angeles, and now based in Moline, Illinois.
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