Premiere Set for Putnam Giant Screen

Two new films in the Fourth Wall Films' Hero Street multi-part documentary series will PREMIERE at the Putnam National Geographic Giant Screen in Davenport, Iowa on the eve of Veterans Day, Sunday, November 10, 2019. A World Away From Hero Street (William Sandoval's story) and Riding the Rails to Hero Street will premiere at 3:00 p.m. with a panel discussion following the film presentation.

More information about this special event will be updated.

Only a block and a half long, Second Street in Silvis, Illinois 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 Mexican-American immigrants settled there in 1929.

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.

The series will combine interviews with family members, friends, veterans, community leaders and historians with vintage photos, film, and archival materials to tell an unforgettable story of American courage, character and perseverance.

Part 3 in the series: Letters Home to Hero Street, a co-production of Fourth Wall Films and WQPT premiered in 2015, won film festival awards and a regional Emmy nomination.

The multi-part documentary project is in memory of the Hero Street Eight. 2nd Street was renamed Hero Street, USA.

Riding the Rails to Hero Street, the first film in the Hero Street documentary 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.

Through their fiscal sponsor the Moline Foundation, Riding the Rails to Hero Street was funded in part by Humanities Iowa, and Quad City Arts.

A World Away From Hero Street will tell the story of William Sandoval. Born in a boxcar into an impoverished family of twelve, he joined the Army after Pearl Harbor was attacked and became a paratrooper. He survived several battles over the next two years, but was killed at age 21 in October 1944 following his involvement in what is still the largest air assault in history, the British-led Operation Market Garden. This battle was the basis for the Hollywood film “A Bridge Too Far.” The documentary will combine interviews with Sandoval family members and friends with archival photos, letters and documents. The film will also feature an on-camera interview with military historian John C. McManus, the author of "September Hope: The American Side of a Bridge Too Far."

Through its fiscal sponsor the Moline Foundation, A World Away From Hero Street was funded in part by the Regional Development Authority, the Illinois Humanities, Quad City Arts. The documentary also received a grant from the Moline Foundation, and funding support from LULAC Iowa, the City of Silvis, Bob Ontiveros and Marc Wilson.

Fourth Wall Films is an award-winning and Emmy-nominated independent film production company formerly located in Los Angeles, and now based in Moline, Illinois. To view Fourth Wall Films' award-winning films on DVD, visit http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.