We are pleased to announce that "Remembering Forest Grove" has been nominated for an Iowa Motion Picture Award! The short documentary was produced by Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films for Forest Grove School Preservation and is only available to view in the schoolhouse museum located at 24040 Forest Grove Dr, Bettendorf, Iowa. Visit https://forestgroveschool.org/ for museum hours and more information.
The Iowa Motion Picture Awards recognize outstanding creative and technical achievement in Iowa’s moving image production industry, in all its forms -- in 22 program categories and 25 craft categories. Nominated entries and winners will be recognized at the Iowa Motion Picture Awards Gala Ceremony on May 14 at The Bridgeview Center in Ottumwa, Iowa. Visit IMPA for more details.
Fourth Wall Films’ Kelly Rundle & Tammy Rundle have been producing, writing, directing and editing documentaries and other media projects for over 25 years. The Rundles are Emmy® Award winners, and the recipients of 8 Mid-America Emmy® nominations, more than two dozen film festival awards, Telly awards, humanities media grant awards, and dozens of film festival Official Selections.
The Rundles are currently in post-production on a feature length documentary, Resurrecting Forest Grove, which cinematically tells the dramatic true story behind the seemingly-impossible task of restoring the vintage one-room school to its 1920s appearance. In 2012, a small group of preservationists stood before the hollowed-out shell of the unique and historic 1873 Forest Grove School No. 5. In the shadow of the gray, windowless, sagging structure they decided it could, and should, be saved. Footage and interviews gathered over a seven-year period 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.
Resurrecting Forest Grove is partially funded by a grant from Humanities Iowa, and the The National Endowment for the Humanities. The fiscal sponsor for the documentary project is Truth First Film Alliance, Inc.
Click HERE to learn how to contribute to the documentary film project and add your name to the credits.
Resurrecting Forest Grove is slated for release in 2023 for the 150th anniversary of the school!
April is Fundraising Campaign Month for Resurrecting Forest Grove, the new feature documentary by Emmy award-winning Fourth Wall Films.
Watch the brief video below. Then CLICK HERE for details on how you can contribute to the documentary project &
have your donation DOUBLED by a special MYSTERY CASH MATCH.
Thank you very much for your support!
The one-hour Humanities Iowa program — “Resurrecting Forest Grove, Or the Impossible & Improbable Restoration of a Roaring ‘20s Country School” — will include a Q&A with the Rundles, Iowa historian Leo Landis, and Forest Grove preservationist Sharon Andresen. Viewers can attend the event via Fourth Wall Films’ Facebook page.
READ the rest of the story HERE!
Mid-America Emmy® award-winning filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films in Moline will preview excerpts from their new documentary “Resurrecting Forest Grove” during a free online Humanities Iowa presentation Tuesday, December 28 at 6:30 p.m. The one-hour program, “Resurrecting Forest Grove, Or the Impossible & Improbable Restoration of a Roaring ‘20s Country School”, will include a Q&A with the Rundles, Iowa historian Leo Landis, and Forest Grove preservationist Sharon Andresen. Viewers can attend the event via Fourth Wall Films’ Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Fourth-Wall-Films-173844695995934.
The Rundles first visited Forest Grove School in Bettendorf, Iowa in 2009 while filming snow scenes for their Mid-America 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, coordinated by Andresen, 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 ten-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 received partial funding from Humanities Iowa and is slated for release in 2022.
For more information about the new documentary, visit www.ForestGroveMovie.com and the film's Facebook fan page.
Fourth Wall Films is an Emmy award-winning independent film and video production company formerly located in Los Angeles, and now based in Moline, Illinois.
JOIN THE JOURNEY AND SUPPORT RESURRECTING FOREST GROVE
We are in the final phase of post-production (editing) on our new Fourth Wall Films documentary feature film Resurrecting Forest Grove and could not be more excited! Now the REAL fun begins as we start selecting from all of the footage gathered over the last eight years and edit the story of Forest Grove School No. 5's history and rebirth.
We are once again in FUNdraising mode. The Film-Fundraising Campaign goal is $3,500 and we sure could use your help!
We accept donations of all levels, starting at $5! Your contribution will fund a portion of the cost of the post-production phase of Resurrecting Forest Grove.
How to contribute and the cool "perks"offered, details about the film project and campaign updates can be found by clicking HERE.
Thank you for considering supporting "Resurrecting Forest Grove"! We are very grateful to all of our generous contributors and sponsors!
You are never too old to swing!
Filmmaker Kelly Rundle of Fourth Wall Films joined his parents Ken and Arlene on the swings at Forest Grove School No. 5 after a wonderful tour of the historic site. They viewed the short museum film, Remembering Forest Grove, reminisced about their own country school memories, rang the school bell, and then PLAYED! If the Giant Stride had not been locked down, it is possible they would have given it a whirl.
Do like the Rundles. Tour Forest Grove School! See the film! Ring the bell! Play on the swings! Saturdays 9A-11:30A. Free to the young and young at heart. 
Tammy and I were thrilled to present a special sneak preview of the new 10-minute museum film "Remembering Forest Grove" to an exclusive group of donors who funded the documentary project. It was a wonderful evening and our gratitude to these extremely generous contributors is beyond measure.
The film will screen during tours in Forest Grove School No. 5's new interactive kiosk. Viewers will also have the opportunity to watch other short clips about farming, history, and former students and teachers of Forest Grove School.
Forest Grove School is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Forest Grove School Preservation is a 501©3 charitable organization dedicated to preserving and telling the history of rural education through the historic rehabilitation of Forest Grove Schoolhouse No. 5. Visit ForestGroveSchool.org for more information.
We feel so fortunate to have been part of this amazing project since 2012! We encourage the young and young at heart to take a tour of this beautifully restored historic schoolhouse. Tours are available on Saturdays 9-11:30 a.m. Free admission. Donations are welcome.
Here is how you can help support work on the documentary project, RESURRECTING FOREST GROVE:
To contribute, check out the cool "perks"offered, read up on details about the film project and campaign updates, click HERE. We accept donations of all levels, starting at $5!
Thank you for considering supporting Resurrecting Forest Grove! We are very grateful to all of our generous Sponsors & Supporters!
The following story was written by reporter Jonathan Turner for QuadCities.com.
Following the meticulous, painstaking preservation of a former one-room school in Bettendorf — completed in September 2019, after more than seven years — the project supporters envisioned reopening as a museum in early 2020. Then Covid happened.
The 1873 Forest Grove No. 5 School – refurbished to its 1920s appearance at a cost of $250,000 — is scheduled to reopen on Saturday, May 22, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Regular hours beyond Saturday mornings will be expanded as docents become trained.
Volunteer docent training will be taking place on Monday, May 3 at 10 a.m. at the schoolhouse, 24040 Forest Grove Drive, Bettendorf. The school will be open for free to the public, with donations welcome.
Kelly & Tammy Rundle, producers of the museum center film "Remembering Forest Grove".
The highlight of reopening Forest Grove (including faithful re-creation of its interior) will be the newly completed museum film, “Remembering Forest Grove,” by award-winning and Emmy-nominated filmmakers Tammy and Kelly Rundle of Moline-based Fourth Wall Films. The 10-minute documentary was supported by five donors whose names appear in the opening credits.
More of the story at QuadCities.com by clicking HERE!
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Here is how you can help support work on the documentary project, RESURRECTING FOREST GROVE:
To contribute, check out the cool "perks"offered, read up on details about the film project and campaign updates, click HERE. We accept donations of all levels, starting at $5!
Thank you for considering supporting Resurrecting Forest Grove! We are very grateful to all of our generous Sponsors & Supporters!