The two newest films in the “Hero Street” Documentary Film Series by award-winning Quad Cities filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films will screen during Civil Rights Week at St. Ambrose University’s Galvin Fine Arts Center in Madsen Hall (Room 120) on Tuesday, January 21 at 6:30PM. The program is free to the public and includes a Q&A with the filmmakers following the showings of “Riding the Rails to Hero Street” and “A Bridge too Far from Hero Street”.
The two films premiered on the Putnam Giant Screen last Veterans Day eve to a standing-ovation by a sold-out crowd.
Riding the Rails to Hero Street, part one in the Rundles’ Hero Street documentary series, tells 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 experienced both acceptance and discrimination in their new communities. 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.
The true story of Hero Street’s Pvt. William Sandoval’s involvement in the largest air assault in history is featured in "A Bridge Too Far From Hero Street". It was the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 that motivated Willie and many others to enlist in the military. Assigned to Co. F, 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Willie’s unit became part of the ill-fated Operation Market Garden.
Interviews with historian John C. McManus, the author of “September Hope: The American Side of A Bridge Too Far”; Marc Wilson, author of "Hero Street, U.S.A: The Story of Little Mexico’s Fallen Soldiers", and Willie’s family members are featured in the film, as well as original art by Bruce Walters, and acoustic guitar music performed by Joe Soliz.
Through its fiscal sponsor the Moline Foundation, the “Hero Street” Documentary Film Series received partial funding from the Regional Development Authority (RDA), Illinois Arts Council, the Illinois Humanities, Humanities Iowa, National Endowment for the Humanities, Quad City Arts, the Quad Cities Community Foundation, LULAC Iowa, Mexican American Veterans Association, the City of Silvis, and individual contributors. The project also received two grant awards from the Moline Foundation. The views and opinions expressed by these films do not necessarily reflect the views of these organizations.
When you want to see great documentaries, independent, foreign, classic and other noteworthy films in the Quad-Cities area, visit QCFilmBlog.com for the latest screenings and special film events.
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