QC Film Blog

Alternating Currents Festival Returns For 5th Season Aug. 18-21

Quad Cities' Alternating Currents runs August 18-21, 2022. The festival is designed to reflect the vibrant culture of the downtown areas and features a variety of indoor and outdoor events including musical acts, film screenings, a comedy lineup and many art-inspired activities.

More than 50 film screenings will take place at the Figge Art Museum, located at 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport. Among the films featured at the four-day festival are:

The Stephen King Rules Film Festival will feature 25 independent, unreleased films that the legendary horror author has allowed emerging filmmakers to adapt from his unproduced short stories, developed by Barker Street Cinema.

The Last Minute Till Midnight directed by Adam Orton tells the story of a city riddled with crime and the last honest journalist’s obsession to expose a corrupt politician.

Spider-Man Heartstrings is a stop motion short film created by recent high school graduate and QC native Damien Dakota Hobert.

No Shortcuts directed by Patrick Boberg tells the story of Ryck who encounters a mysterious object that recharges his workout regime efforts.

The Stephen King Rules film festival will take place Aug. 19-21 in Davenport, as part of Alternating Currents.

Films, performers and schedules are updated in the Alternating Currents' app. Visit alternatingcurrentsqc.com to download the free app.

Alternating Currents showcases more than 60 national, regional and local acts over the four-day event. Now in its fifth year, Alternating Currents is organized by the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP), a division of the Quad Cities Chamber, in collaboration with local talent across our region’s creative community.

All Alternating Currents performances are free to attend. This year’s festival is presented by GreenState Credit Union, the Regional Development Authority (RDA) and Rhythm City Casino Resort.

 

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.

Hero Street Documentary Screens at the Figge Aug. 20-22

A Bridge Too Far From Hero Street, the true story of Pvt. William Sandoval’s involvement in the largest air assault in history, is an Official Selection at the Alternating Currents Festival and will screen FREE at the Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd Street in Davenport, Iowa in the John Deere Auditorium. The documentary produced by award-winning filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films is included in a one-hour block of Family-Friendly films and will be presented on Friday, Aug. 20 at 5:00 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 21 at 11:00 a.m.; Sunday Aug. 22 at 11:00 a.m.

The Festival has included an additional screening at the Mockingbird on Main, 320 N. Main St. in Davenport on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

It was the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 that motivated William “Willie” Sandoval and many others to enlist in the military. At age 20, he completed his training and was assigned to Co. F, 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. After initial and extended combat action in Italy, Willie’s unit reformed in England. In September 1944, he became part of the ill-fated Operation Market Garden. The day after his 21st birthday, Willie was one of 20,000 paratroopers who leaped into the sky over German occupied Holland. He wrote to his sister Rufina, “You will never know, sis, how happy I will be when I step onto the doorstep and say, “I’m home, Dad. That will be the happiest day of my life.”

“Life changed for Willie Sandoval when he left to serve his country during WWII, and he was longing to return home to be with his loved ones and to have some normalcy,” said producer Tammy Rundle.

Art by Bruce Walters.

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 Alternating Currents is a festival featuring music, comedy, film, and art with more than 60 national, regional and local acts over the four-day event at locations across Downtown Quad Cities including 25 locations in downtown Davenport. Now in its fourth year, Alternating Currents is organized by the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP), a division of the Quad Cities Chamber, in collaboration with local talent across our region’s creative community. Read more about the festival at QuadCities.com.

 

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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"Hunger Ward" Showcased Alternating Currents Festival August 21

The Oscar-nominated documentary short Hunger Ward, produced by Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Scheuerman, will screen at the Figge Art Museum on Saturday, Aug. 21 at 4 p.m. followed by Q&A with the film's composer William Campbell of Davenport, Iowa. Admission is free.

In March 2018, the UN reported that 10 million Yemenis were one step away from famine and that hunger is threatening an entire generation. Borne out of a sense of urgency at the sustained civilian suffering caused by the human-caused famine in Yemen, we embedded with a team of doctors and nurses working at Therapeutic Feeding Centers (TFCs) treating those most at risk of starvation.

​Filmed from inside two of the most active therapeutic feeding centers in Yemen, HUNGER WARD documents two women health care workers fighting to thwart the spread of starvation against the backdrop of a forgotten war. The film provides an unflinching portrait of Dr. Aida Alsadeeq and Nurse Mekkia Mahdi as they try to save the lives of hunger-stricken children within a population on the brink of famine. https://www.hungerward.org/

Visit AlternatingCurrentsqc.com for details.

 

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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Urban Exposure Showcases Young Women Filmmakers' Work for Women's History Month

A poster for the first Urban Exposure “Young Women in Film” mini-fest March 15 and 22. (Image  copyright: Azubuike African American Council for the Arts)

 

Following is a great write-up by QuadCities.com journalist Jonathan Turner on the new Urban Exposure Independent Film Project's festival showcasing young women filmakers' work. As stated on its Facebook page, based in Davenport, Iowa, Urban Exposure offers film programs highlighting the fundamentals of filmmaking, writing, directing, acting for film & editing. It also offers a ten-week summer program for young people highlighting filmmaking fundamentals, including writing, directing, and editing.

Urban Exposure to Showcase Female Filmmakers on Facebook March 15 and 22

By Jonathan Turner, QuadCities.com

In honor of Women’s History Month, Urban Exposure Independent Film Project and Azubuike Arts is screening eight short films written and directed by the summer program’s young women. The festival will be streamed for free on Facebook on Monday, March 15 and 22 at 6 p.m.

Each screening will be followed by a conversation between the first-time filmmakers, host Gaye Shannon Burnett (president of Azubuike African American Council for the Arts), and a special guest independent filmmaker. An online interactive Q&A will follow the short films with the Facebook Live audience.

“This is first time we’ve done women’s only; I was trying to think of what we could do for

Women’s History Month,” Burnett, the council president, who runs the six-year-old Urban Exposure with her filmmaker son, Jon Burnett, said Sunday. “We have films made by young women in our program. We have eight — I didn’t realize that, that’s enough for a whole program.”

Read the rest of the story at QuadCities.com!

 

 

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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"Foxtrot" and "Bombshell: The Hedy Lemarr Story" Showcased at Jewish Film Series in Sept.

Mark your calendars for two award-winning films screening in September at the Gordon Ney Jewish Film Series 2018 showcased at the Figge Art Museum Auditorium
225 West 2nd Street, Davenport.

 

Sunday, September 16, 4:00pm: the multi award-winning film "Foxtrot"; A troubled family must face the facts when something goes terribly wrong at their son's desolate military post.

 

Sunday, September 23, 4:00pm: the multi-award winning documentary "Bombshell: The Hedy Lemarr Story"; Hedy Lamarr was a Hollywood movie star who was hailed as the most beautiful and glamorous in the world. However, that was only the surface that tragically obscured her astounding true talents. Foremost of them was her inventive genius that a world blinded by her beauty could not recognize as far back as her youth in Austria with her homemade gadgets. This film explores Lamarr's life which included escaping a loveless marriage on the eve of Nazi Germany's conquest of her nation to a new career in Hollywood.

Tickets are available at the door: Adults - $7; Seniors (60+) & Military - $6; Students - Free.  

The film series is named in honor of the late Gordon Ney who passed away on February 6, 2015 at the age of 70.  Mr. Ney was twice president of the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities and Federation Treasurer for many years. "He was one of the unsung heroes of the Jewish Community and in his quiet and unassuming, yet very determined and very competent manner, Gordon exemplified all that was good about Jewish life in the Quad Cites." ~The Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities.

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.

Alternating Currents to present first film festival

By Jonathan Turner, Entertainment Editor
Dispatch Argus

More than a dozen films — from across the country and by local filmmakers — will be shown Aug. 23-26 in the first Alternating Currents Film Festival, to be capped by a Sunday screening of “A Quiet Place” and Q&A with Bettendorf natives Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.

“We have quite a diverse group — people from L.A., Vegas, Colorado, Nashville, Louisiana,” Harry Walker, one of the festival curators, said this week. He noted that most of the entries are short films (under half an hour) and all will be shown for free.

Filmmakers with Q-C connections include Jonathan Burnett, who runs the Urban Exposure Summer Film Program; Robert and Scott Cerny; Joe Zerull; and Bettendorf native Bruce Bales, who now lives in Des Moines.

“I was surprised that we got such a plethora of quality stuff, from all over the country, which is nice,” Walker said. “People are listening; the film scene is rising in the Quad-Cities, which is a goal.”

This is the second year for Alternating Currents, a downtown Davenport festival showcasing music, film, art and comedy at several venues. But there was no film competition component last year, Walker said, noting prizes will be $500 for best feature-length film, $250 for best short and $100 each for best experimental and student films.

Urban Exposure — which teaches filmmaking basics to high-school and college students — will show its projects Thursday, Aug. 23, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St. Burnett is an L.A.-based filmmaker and 2006 Rock Island High alum. By the end of the 10-week program, students write, film, edit and present their films to the community.

Read the rest of the story by Jonathan Turner 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.

Three Q-C filmmakers to screen in Cedar Rapids

Lora Adams stars in Stephen Folker's short film "Someone Else's Hero."

Dispatch-Argus
Entertainment Editor Jonathan Turner
March 28, 2018

QUAD CITIES--A trio of flicks from Quad-Cities filmmakers are Official Selections at the 16th-annual Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival (CRIFF), to be shown at the Collins Road Theatres in Marion, Iowa on April 6-7.

Moline-based Heritage Documentaries’ “East Meets West: The First Railroad Bridge to Cross the Mississippi River,” will compete in the Professional Documentary category. The film was directed by Julie Wine Johnston with videography and editing by Denise Hollmer.

East Meets West: The First Railroad Bridge to Cross the Mississippi River was produced by Heritage Documentaries.

The documentary tells the story of the bridge that first connected Rock Island to Davenport in 1856, including how Henry Farnam led the effort to build the railroad and bridge; the dramatic collision with the steamboat Effie Afton just two weeks after the bridge was completed; and Abraham Lincoln’s successful defense of the railroad’s right to cross the river in the trial that followed, according to a release on the film festival.

The bridge was not only a symbol of conflict but a crucial link to the transcontinental railroad and settlement of the West, the release says. “East Meets West” will be shown Friday, April 6 at 8:56 p.m. and on Saturday, April 7 at 1:30 p.m.

The documentary “The Barn Raisers,” produced by Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle of Moline-based Fourth Wall Films in Moline is also a contender in the Professional Documentary category. The film tells the fascinating and true story of vintage barns and the men who built them, according to the release.

The Barn Raisers by Fourth Wall Films.

Barns were constructed by farmer-craftsmen, professional builders who traveled from job to job and architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, Benton Steele and African-American round barn builder Alga Shivers. “The Barn Raisers” examines barns through the lens of architecture.

It has been an Official Selection at California’s Newport Beach Film Festival, Beloit International Film Festival, Interrobang Film Festival, Royal Starr Film Festival, Iowa Independent Film Festival, Doc Sunback Film Festival, and was one of three films chosen for the Newport Beach Film Festival at Sea – a feature during a seven-day Celebrity Alaskan Cruise.

“The Barn Raisers” will screen in Marion Saturday, April 7 at 11:05 a.m. And 6 p.m. The Emmy-nominated husband and wife team will also take part in a panel discussion at 4 p.m. as representatives of the documentary genre.

Davenport-based Stephen Folker will be represented next month at CRIFF with “Someone Else’s Hero,” a heartfelt narrative about a woman coping with the loss of her son in the Iraq war.

Mr. Folker directed the 15-minute film, which was produced and written by Beth Hinde, and stars Q-C actress Lora Adams. Ms. Hinde was educated at Jefferson High School in Independence, Iowa, and the short film was shot last summer and takes place in Independence.

In Marion, “Someone Else’s Hero” screens on Friday, April 6 at 9:07 p.m. and on Saturday, April 7 at 12:11 p.m. It is an official selection in the Professional Short category. An award ceremony will be held on Saturday evening at 9:20 p.m. and the winners of the festival’s Eddy Awards will be announced.

Mr. Folker won two awards at the 2016 CRIFF, for his horror spoof, “The Orange Man.” It earned a Silver Eddy in the Pro Feature (fiction film) category, competing against movies that have much higher budgets, as well as the Audience Choice Award. Mr. Folker said this week that Ms. Hinde loved that film and asked him to collaborate.

The Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival has been a prominent Iowa festival since 2001 and was created to provide a venue for Iowa filmmakers.

The organization’s main goals are to encourage Iowa independent filmmakers to continue improving their craft, and provide a place to specifically showcase Iowa-connected films, according to the festival release.

Fourth Wall Films has won 11 CRIFF awards, including the 2016 Gold Eddy in the Pro Documentary category for “River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6.” Their “Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg” won Best Pro-Am Documentary that year.

For this year’s festival show times and ticket information, visit crifm.org.

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When you want to see great documentaries, independent, foreign and other films in the Quad-Cities area, visit QCFilmBlog.com for details!

Augustana 6th Annual Environmental Film Festival - Saturday!

The sixth annual Environmental Film Fest

10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday, March 19, 2011, at

Olin Auditorium at Augustana College
733 35th St. Rock Island, Ill.
Admission is FREE
Doors open at 10 a.m. Movies roll at 10:30 a.m.
Healthy snacks and drinks provided.

The event is sponsored by the Eagle View Group of the Sierra Club, Augustana College and Radish Magazine.

 

Carbon Nation

10:30 a.m. (82 min.) (view trailer)

"A climate change solutions movie that doesn't even care if you believe in climate change."

Through a cast of engaging and endearing characters from across the country, in towns big and small, this film introduces us to the new wave of American ingenuity and makes clear that the creative solutions needed to combat climate change are already being created.

 

Living Downstream

12:15 p.m. (55 min.) (view trailer)

"Handsomely photographed and powerfully argued. . . . Steingraber's scientific cool and unflagging sense of mission make for an arresting portrait of a self-styled modern-day Rachel Carson."
                     ~ Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post
Based on the acclaimed book by ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, the is movie follows her during one pivotal year as she travels across North America, working to break the silence about cancer and its environmental links. The movie follows toxic chemicals as they migrate through some of the most beautiful places in North America, how they enter our bodies, and how they may be working to cause cancer. Steingraber's story begins in a nearby watershed, along the Illinois River in Pekin, Illinois where she grew up.

 

Bag It...is your life too plastic?

1:50p.m. (65 min.) (view trailer)

"Gripping, funny, intelligent and sure to change your life."

 "What happens when an everyday guy starts looking into seemingly innocuous single use plastic bags and discovers genetically altering chemicals in his everyday life?

Jeb Berrier, an average American guy who is admittedly not a "tree hugger", makes a pledge to stop using plastic bags. This simple action gets him thinking about all kinds of plastic we use. Bag It focuses on plastic as it relates to our society's culture of convenience and our throw away mentality when there really is no more "away".

Tapped

3:20 p.m. (54 min.)(view trailer)

"I quit drinking bottled water years ago, but now I have the perfect teaching tool with this film to convince my friends to give up the bottle. Tapped is a must see!" --Ed Begley Jr.

Is access to clean drinking water a basic human right, or a commodity that should be bought and sold like any other article of commerce? Stephanie Soechtig's debut feature is an unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water, from the production of plastic, to the communities where water is being pumped, to the oceans in which so many bottles end up.

Truck Farm

4:50 p.m. (48 min.) (view trailer)

 "A simple concept with a big impact."

The makers of the movie King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, turn an '86 Dodge truck into an urban vegetable garden with bumper crops os arugula, lettuce, broccoli and herbs. The truck also sprouts a steady supply of interested neighbors who pull weeds, add water, and sneak in some toy cows and chickens that graze contentedly among the nasturtiums. The truck creates high quality produce that can travel less than 50 feet from farm to table, and supplies the food system with a healthy dose of fun.

More festival information: 309.762.9588

Online: http://www.augustana.edu/x12049.xml

The Hardacre Film Festival Runs August 6-7, 2010 in Tipton, Iowa

TIPTON, Iowa—Stuck elevators, foul balls and the world’s largest lava lamp are among the filmed subjects of this year’s Hardacre Film Festival. Iowa’s longest-running film festival, celebrating its 13th year, will be held Friday and Saturday, August 6 and 7, at the historic Hardacre Theater in Tipton.

“We’re really excited about this year’s lineup—a terrific variety of subjects and filmmakers to present them,” said Will Valet, festival director. “Many of our films have shown at the world’s most prestigious film festivals, while others are premiering at the Hardacre. It’s a world-class festival that gives movie lovers in our region a great opportunity to experience them and meet the people who made them.”

The 2010 festival will feature dozens of feature-length and short films from all over the world, including two feature-length narrative films, six documentaries, seven animated films and more than a dozen short live-action films.

Among this year’s highlights:

Features
American Grindhouse—This documentary (from Iowa-raised director Elijah Drenner) covers the history of the American exploitation film. The movie examines this often-overlooked category of U.S. “shock” cinema in an informative and amusing way.

Ballhawks—This documentary tells the story of Cubs fans who chase baseballs—and dreams—outside the ivy-covered walls of Wrigley Field.  Filmed in 2004, when Wrigley announced plans to expand the bleachers and change “ballhawking” forever.

Between Floors—This funny, claustrophobic and arresting film examines the human condition through five stuck elevators and the people trapped inside them.  Each elevator forces its occupants to confront their isolation, themselves and each other in varied and unexpected ways.

Cleanflix—This documentary explores the companies that make R-rated films “clean” for families and religious groups and the unhappy film directors whose work is going under the knife.

My Vietnam, Your Iraq—This heartbreaking and inspiring documentary tells the stories of Vietnam veterans and their children who have served in each generation’s war. This looks at the pride, challenges, fears, prejudices and emotions they have gone through during and after deployment.

World’s Largest—Shot partially in Iowa, this documentary captures the changing landscape of small-town America. Desperate for tourism, hundreds of small towns claim the “world’s largest” objects, from 15-foot fiberglass strawberries to 40-foot concrete pheasants. This film visits 58 such sites and profiles one Washington town’s four-year struggle to build the world’s largest lava lamp.

Shorts
The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger—In this animated film from animation legend Bill Plympton, a bovine is mesmerized by a marketing billboard and chases the goal of being the best hamburger he can be.

Heartland Transport—This short documentary, shot partially in Iowa City, concerns 17 gay and lesbian couples who define marriage equality as they take a chartered bus from St. Louis to Iowa City to be legally married.

Mind the Gap—In this hilarious short from Canada, a beautiful young woman sits next to a sweet elderly man on a train. The ride is anything but boring in this sweet comedy about first and last impressions.

Patient—In this short, a man and a woman meet at a coffee shop for the first time. As if on an awkward date, they exchange timid pleasantries. But as their conversation unfolds, the horrifying truth behind their meeting is revealed.

Plastic Bag—This timely short film by hot indie filmmaker Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart, Goodbye Solo) traces the existential journey of a plastic bag (voiced by legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog) searching for its lost maker, the woman who took it home from the store and eventually discarded it.

Trophy Wife—This short film (from Marion, Iowa) concerns a husband who struggles with failure and rejection in his hobby and in his marriage. When everything finally falls apart, Frank finds a way to resolve his taxidermy hobby and come to terms with his wife.

The complete list of films and a schedule for the 2010 festival is now available online at:

www.hardacrefilmfestival.com.

Filmmakers are regularly in attendance, present their films, and take questions from audience members following screenings. The festival takes place during Tipton’s Ridiculous Days sidewalk sale event.

The Hardacre will give out awards including Best Feature Film, Best Documentary, Best Short Film, Best Student Film, Best Animated Film, Best Experimental Film, and the Audience Award, which is voted on by audience members during the festival.

Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival to Showcase Films with Iowa Connections

The 2010 Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival will feature dozens of independent films with Iowa connections at the Collins Road Theatres in Marion, Iowa (Cedar Rapids area) on April 9 and 10, 2010.

You'll find a list of films here:
http://www.crifm.org/aboutfilms2010.html

And a schedule here:
http://www.crifm.org/2010schedule.html