
Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City, an Emmy-nominated documentary short by Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, is an Official Selection at the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival. Films will be shown in venues in and near Dubuque's Main Street and in the newly renovated Phoenix Theatres. Individual film tickets and All Access Passes are available for purchase for this 5-day festival.
JDIFF has been voted multiple times as one of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals and one of the Top 50 film festivals worth the submission fee, as well as rated one of the top reviewed festivals in the world! JDIFF acknowledges emerging filmmakers from around the world and supports diverse and cause-related films.

From the producers of the award-winning Lost Nation: The Ioway film series, Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City presents the fascinating and forgotten story of the Blood Run National Historic Landmark as told by a Native American grandfather to his grandchildren. Produced in 4K, the documentary combines vivid present-day views of the park's scenic vistas and wildlife with dramatic historical reenactments portraying daily life in the year 1650. The film was produced for South Dakota's newest State Park, Good Earth at Blood Run near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Good Earth site in Iowa and South Dakota was occupied between 1500 and 1725 by ancestors of the present-day Ioway, Omaha, Ponca and Oto tribes, making it one of the oldest long-term habitation sites in the United States. At its peak around 1650, the site was home to 6,000-10,000 residents--more than Boston (2,000) and New York (New Amsterdam-1,000) in that same year.

Filming for the documentary took place on Good Earth/Blood Run sites in Sioux Falls and Lyon County, Iowa; and other sites in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. Representatives from the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, the Otoe-Missouria Tribe, and the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma consulted on and participated in the film project. Approximately twenty Native Americans from across the country took part in front of and behind the camera for the documentary.

The documentary was directed/written by Kelly Rundle, produced/written by Tammy Rundle, and the team behind the award-winning film includes: Kevin Railsback (nature/wildlife director of photography), Chris Ryder (cinematography/assistant editor), Kimberly Kurtenbach (assistant director/casting), Melinda Carriker (wardrobe supervisor/set and props), Jon Van Allen (gaffer), Lora Adams (assistant directing/assistant wardrobe), computer animation by Grasshorse Studios, Michael Kopriva (production assistant), Sara Wegener (hair/make-up), Angelique Verver (hair/make-up), Reuben Ironhorse-Kent (pottery art/music), Delshay Webster, Jr. (production assistant), Mike He Crow (cultural props).

Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City is included in JDIFF's Short Block XI. It will screen on Thursday, April 25 at the Mississippi River Museum Journey Theater during the 12:45 p.m. Short Block.

On Saturday, April 27 it screens at the Five Flags Bijou during the 4:45 p.m. Short Block.

On Sunday, April 28 it screens at the Hotel Julien River Room during the 2:00 p.m. Short Block.
For more information and to order tickets, visit https://julienfilmfest.com/
Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City recently received the Top Award of Excellence in the Documentary category from the Iowa Motion Picture Association, a Mid-America Emmy nomination, received seven awards at the Archaeology Channel International Film Festival in Eugene, Oregon, and top awards at the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival and the Iowa Independent Film Festival.
The award-winning Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City is available on DVD at the Good Earth State Park Visitors Center.
Fourth Wall Films is an Emmy® nominated and award-winning independent film and video production company formerly located in Los Angeles, and now based in Moline, Illinois. Fourth Wall Films focuses on telling Midwestern stories through historical documentary films that reach viewers via PBS broadcasts, theaters, film festivals, national DVD release and online streaming.

To purchase Fourth Wall Films' award-winning Lost Nation: The Ioway DVD series, click HERE!