QC Film Blog

Next Jewish film series starts Sunday at the Figge

By Jonathan Turner
Moline Dispatch

The next quartet of movies in the Gordon Ney Jewish Film Series begin Sunday in the auditorium of the Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St. 

Presented by the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities, all films are shown at 4 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors (60-plus) and military, and free for students. The schedule (with summaries from the federation) is as follows:

Sept. 15 – “The Interpreter” (2018), 113 min., German/Slovak/Russian with English subtitles, Comedy/Drama.

Sunday, Sept. 22 “Itzhak” (2018), 82 min., English/ Hebrew with English subtitles, Documentary. From Schubert to Strauss, Bach to Brahms, Mozart to ... Billy Joel, Itzhak Perlman's violin playing transcends mere performance to evoke the celebrations and struggles of real life; "praying with the violin," says renowned Tel Aviv violinmaker Amnon Weinstein. Alison Chernick's enchanting documentary looks beyond the sublime musician to see the polio survivor whose parents emigrated from Poland to Israel, and the young man who struggled to be taken seriously as a music student when schools saw only his disability.

Read the rest of the Dispatch article HERE. For more information, visit jfqc.org.

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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Ken Burns' New Country Music Doc Previews at RME Sept. 12

From the Dispatch-Argus

Iowa Public Television and WQPT-PBS will preview the newest film from Ken Burns, “Country Music,” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, at the River Music Experience, 129 Main St.

The documentary chronicles the history of country music and many of its stars, including the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn.

The free Redstone Room screening event will feature the preview and special guest Dani Lynn Howe, one of the co-hosts of the morning show on local country station WLLR-FM. She will share her experiences in country music, according to an IPTV release. The event also will include food, drink, music and contests.

At the film’s heart are the stories of unforgettable songs and the artists who created them. “The film explores the extraordinary connection between country-music artists and fans and notes the enduring influence of particular songs and musicians across generations,” the release said.

Read the rest of the Dispatch story HERE!

 

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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"The Amish Incident" Presented at Black Hawk College's Lifelong Learners Luncheon Sept. 5

Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films will present The Amish Incident: Rural Conflict and Compromise on Thursday, September 5 at the Black Hawk Lifelong Learners Luncheon at the Quad City Botanical Center, 2525 4th Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois.  The program includes lunch at 11:30AM, the 25-minute award-winning film and discussion.  The fee is $23 (and includes admission to the Botanical Center).  The last day to register is August 30th. To make reservations, contact 309-796-8223 courvilleb@bhc.edu

The Des Moines Register photograph that ignited a firestorm of publicity.

The documentary film tells the true story of Buchanan County, Iowa school officials who decide to bus Amish children into town schools in November of 1965. A newspaper photographer captures an iconic image of the kids fleeing from authorities into a nearby cornfield. The incident and the photograph ignite a firestorm of arrests, fines, and controversy leading to a unique precedent-setting covenant between the "Plain People" and the State of Iowa. The Amish Incident weaves interviews with key people in the story with newly discovered archival materials and photographs to tell a fascinating and memorable true tale of rural conflict and compromise.

The film won a Silver Eddy Award at the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival, and was an official selection at the Oneota Film Festival. It also received the Scholarship and Artistry Award from the Country School Association of America.

With the fiscal sponsorship of The Moline Foundation, The Amish Incident: Rural Conflict and Compromise was partially funded by a grant from Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area, and from Humanities Iowa.

Kelly and Tammy Rundle are the producers of 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, and four regional Emmy® nominated films including Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City, River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6, and Letters Home to Hero Street. Fourth Wall Films is an independent film and video production company formerly based in Los Angeles and now based in the Quad Cities. 

Quad Cities' Forest Grove School No. 5 Benefit Screening of "Country School: One Room - One Nation" June 1

You are invited to a special benefit screening event for the Quad Cities own Forest Grove School No. 5 on Saturday, June 1 at 6:30PM!

This special evening includes a screening of the Mid-America Emmy-nominated COUNTRY SCHOOL: ONE ROOM - ONE NATION by Kelly & Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, refreshments, tour, Q&A after the film, and more! Money raised benefits the school and will be used for final interior restoration.

Tickets are $50/pp and support a great cause! Reserve at www.brownpapertickets.com. 

Forest Grove No. 5 is located at 24040 Forest Grove Drive, Bettendorf, IA. We will see you 'at school' on Saturday. Don't be tardy!

 

Looking for 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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"State of the Art" Showcased at Figge on May 30

The Figge Art Museum will feature the film State of the Art from award-winning filmmakers Craig and Brent Renaud and Arkansas Educational Television Network.

The film tells the story of diverse artists driven to create —with work that is intensely personal, firmly rooted in community, and inseparable from the lives they live. Their work offers a window into not only what concerns Americans, but also what lifts them up. Artist Vanessa German is featured in the film. 

Visit https://figgeartmuseum.org/programs-and-events/calendar/event/film-state-of-the-art/169 for more details.  The Figge Art Museum is located at 225 W 2nd St, Davenport, Iowa.

Looking for 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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"Who Will Write Our History" Screens May 12 at the Figge

The Lloyd M. Burstein Memorial Holocaust Film Series continues at the Figge Art Museum with the award-winning "Who Will Write Our History" Sunday, May 12, 4:00pm. The Figge is located at 225 W 2nd St, Davenport, IA.

 

Synopsis: In November 1940, days after the Nazis sealed 450,000 Jews in the Warsaw ghetto, a secret band of journalists, scholars and community leaders decide to fight back. Led by historian Emanuel Ringelblum and known by the code name Oyneg Shabes, this clandestine group vows to defeat Nazi lies and propaganda, not with guns or fists but with pen and paper.  This documentary was produced by Nancy Spielberg.  

Tickets available at the door. Adults $7; Seniors (60+) and Military $6; Students Free. For info call (309) 793-1300.  This film has adult content.  

 

For more information visit the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities at https://www.jfqc.org/.

 

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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Filmmaker brings "Suicide the Ripple Effect" to Scott Community College May 3

By Jonathan Turner
Moline Dispatch-Argus

Scott Community College is hosting two, free special events Friday, May 3, including a talk from celebrity hairstylist and SCC alum Dean Banowetz.

At 1 p.m. in Room 1501 on the Belmont Campus (500 Belmont Road, Bettendorf), Banowetz will talk with students and the public about his experience as an SCC student and his personal story of perseverance, grit and success.

A native of DeWitt, he earned his associate's degree at SCC in 1992 following a tour in the U.S. Army. Banowetz continued his cosmetology education, then went on to own three prominent salons in the Quad-Cities, according to his biography.

In 2000, he moved to Los Angeles, where he landed a gig on the series “Extra” and attended On Set Motion Picture Hair Academy to refine his practice. In 2002, Banowetz took a job on “American Idol,” where he was responsible for styling the hair of Ryan Seacrest, as well as all of the contestants.

 

Known as “the Hollywood Hair Guy,” Banowetz styles for celebrities and prime-time TV shows and specials, including “Shark Tank” (ABC), “So You Think You Can Dance,” “America’s Got Talent,” (NBC), Katy Perry’s AMA performance and Taylor Swift’s performance at the 56th annual Grammy Awards. He also recently wrote and self-published his first book, “The Dean’s List of Daddy Dos,” to help create basic hairdos for your daughter’s school photos, dances and family get-togethers.

Next on Friday, from 1:30-3 p.m., SCC is offering a free showing of “Suicide The Ripple Effect,” a new documentary that addresses the statistics, stigmas, culture, available resources and the real impacts of suicide on others.

Read the rest of the story HERE!

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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"Paris to Pittsburgh" Climate Change Doc Screens April 17

This Earth Day event features a screening of "Paris to Pittsburgh", a 2018 documentary about climate change.  The film is narrated by Rachel Brosnahan and produced by Bloomberg Philanthorpies and Radical Media.  A panel discussion about the movie and climate change issues after the showing.

This FREE public program takes place on Wednesday, April 17, 7PM-9PM at St. Ambrose University's Rogalski Center, 518 Locust St., Davenport, Iowa.

Film synopsis: Paris to Pittsburgh brings to life the impassioned efforts of individuals who are battling the most severe threats of climate change in their own backyards. Set against the national debate over the United States' energy future - and the Trump administration's explosive decision to exit the Paris Climate Agreement - the film captures what's at stake for communities around the country and the inspiring ways Americans are responding.

Looking for 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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St. Ambrose Screening of Oscar-Nominated "Lifeboat" Draws Large Crowd

Oscar-nominated "Lifeboat" director Skye Fitzgerald and composer Bill Campbell took part in a 'Talk-Back' session led by moderator Kelly Rundle.

The Oscar-nominated short documentary "Lifeboat" drew a large crowd at St. Ambrose University's Galvin Fine Arts Center on Friday, March 1.  Following the film, the audience enjoyed hearing director Skye Fitzgerald and the film's composer Bill Campbell, St. Ambrose music professor, take part in a lively 'Talk-Back' session moderated by Kelly Rundle of Fourth Wall Films. 

Fitzgerald, Campbell and others from the film's team attended the 91st annual Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on February 24th.  The 35-minute documentary was among five films nominated in the Documentary Short Subject category. "Period. End of Silence" took home the Oscar.

The theater begins to fill up prior to the screening of "Lifeboat".

From the film's website Lifeboatdocumentary.com: "In 2015 our team produced 50 Feet from Syria - focused on the civilian impact of the Syrian conflict. This was the first of a triad of films focused on one of the great humanitarian crises of our time – the plight of refugees in a global and interconnected world. 

In a political environment increasingly hostile to immigrants and refugees, documenting the real-life plight of those fleeing war and oppression is more vital and important than ever. 

LIFEBOAT bears witness to refugees desperate enough to risk their lives in rubber boats leaving Libya in the middle of the night, despite a high probability of drowning. With few resources but certain that civil society must intervene, volunteers from a German non-profit risk the waves of the Mediterranean to pluck refugees from sinking rafts. 

In a real-life context with dire consequences, LIFEBOAT puts a human face on one of the world’s greatest contemporary, global crises and provides a spark of hope surrounding how civil society can intervene in the refugee crisis in a meaningful way."

For more information about the documentary, visit Lifeboatdocumentary.com.

Looking for 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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Oscar-nominated "Lifeboat" screens at St. Ambrose March 1

By Jonathan Turner
Entertainment Editor, Moline Dispatch
February 22, 2019

“Lifeboat,” an Oscar-nominated documentary about the harrowing journey of North African refugees who risk high seas to find a better life in Europe and the people who risk their lives to help them, will be shown at 7 p.m. Friday, March 1, in the Galvin Fine Arts Center at St. Ambrose University.

Following the free screening, director Skye Fitzgerald and composer William Campbell, the chairman of the St. Ambrose music department, who composed the score for the film, will discuss the half-hour documentary and answer questions.

Admission is free. Donations will be accepted to help Sea-Watch, a Germany-based nonprofit that conducts civil search-and-rescue operations, including the 2016 rescue depicted in the film.

“Lifeboat” is nominated in the Best Documentary Short Subject category for a 2019 Academy Award. The awards ceremony will be televised from Los Angeles starting at 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24.

The film already has won Best Documentary Short awards at multiple film festivals, including the 2018 Dublin International Short Film Festival, the 2018 Courage Film Festival, and 2018 Woodstock Film Festival.

Campbell, a St. Ambrose music professor, met Fitzgerald while both were attending graduate school at the University of Oregon. They will attend the Academy Awards presentation, but Campbell stressed the film’s importance extends beyond awards and honors.

Read the complete article HERE!

Looking for 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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