"Resurrecting Forest Grove" Awarded Grant

Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films have received a major media grant from Humanities Iowa, a state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, in support of production on their new feature-length documentary Resurrecting Forest Grove. The fiscal sponsor for the project is the Moline Foundation.

“We are very grateful to Humanities Iowa for this grant award for this documentary project," said director Kelly Rundle. “Humanities Iowa has been an important partner in our quest to create entertaining and enlightening historical documentaries on important Midwestern subjects.”

The Rundles first visited Forest Grove School in Bettendorf, Iowa in 2009 while filming snow scenes for their Emmy® nominated historical documentary Country School: One Room – One Nation. The school appeared to be on the brink of collapse and unrestorable.

In 2012, a small group of local preservationists decided the 1873 Forest Grove School No. 5. could, and should, be saved.

Resurrecting Forest Grove, will cinematically tell the dramatic true story behind the seemingly-impossible task of restoring the vintage one-room school to its 1920s appearance. Footage and interviews gathered over a seven-year period will depict the problems they faced and the solutions they employed as they attempted to bring this rural icon back to life. The surprises and successes of this challenging restoration project are intercut with a vivid historical portrait of the 'Roaring 20s' in rural America.

"It has been an exciting experience to watch and document the ‘resurrection’ of Forest Grove over the past seven years,” said producer Tammy Rundle. “It took a dedicated and hard-working group of visionaries to bring the school back to life. It is an inspirational story that will make you think twice about saying, ‘It can’t be done.’"

Resurrecting Forest Grove is slated for release in 2021.  For more information about the new documentary, visit www.ForestGroveMovie.com and the film's Facebook fan page.

Humanities Iowa is the only non-profit organization in Iowa committed to bringing the humanities to life and to the public through interactive programming, publications, and events.  Resurrecting Forest Grove is supported by Humanities Iowa and the National Endowment for the Humanities.  The views and opinions expressed by this program do not necessarily reflect those of Humanities Iowa or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Fourth Wall Films is an award-winning and Emmy-nominated independent film and video production company formerly located in Los Angeles, and now based in Moline, Illinois.