"Thunder" and Film's Stars will come to Sterling for Special Benefit Screening

A special Dillon Home Museum benefit screening of Sons & Daughters of Thunder, a new film by Mid-America Emmy® nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, will be held on Thursday, April 18 at 6:00 p.m. at Centennial Auditorium at Sterling High School, 1608 4th Avenue, Sterling, Illinois. Tickets are $6/pp and can be reserved at www.centennialauditorium.org. Proceeds benefit the preservation of the Dillon Home Museum.

Based on the critically-acclaimed play by Earlene Hawley and Curtis Heeter, Sons & Daughters of Thunder tells the true story of the 1834 Cincinnati, Ohio Lane Theological Seminary anti-slavery debates. The controversial meetings, led by abolitionist and firebrand Theodore Weld (played by actor Thomas Alan Taylor), were the first to publicly discuss the end of slavery in America. The meetings angered Cincinnati residents and Lane Seminary officials, who promptly slapped a gag order on the entire student body. This action was followed by a freedom of speech protest and mass exodus of Lane students to Oberlin College.

A young Harriet Beecher’s (played by actress Jessica Taylor) exposure to the debates and Weld's continuing work to free the slaves sparked a flame that led her to write her magnum opus Uncle Tom's Cabin.

The Dillon Home Museum in Sterling, Illinois served as one of the key locations for the movie, with numerous scenes filmed inside and outside the historic site. Principal photography for Sons & Daughters of Thunder took place in Illinois, Ohio and Connecticut.

“It is exciting to return to Sterling to showcase Sons & Daughters of Thunder in Sterling, 185 years after the nation’s first public debates regarding the abolition of slavery,” said director Kelly Rundle.

Former curator Linda Heckler poses with Thunder cast members.

“The Dillon Home Museum was the perfect location for the film project, serving as the home for Harriet Beecher and her family while living in Cincinnati, Ohio,” said producer Tammy Rundle. “We are very grateful to former Dillon Home curator Linda Heckler, who worked tirelessly to make the house a ‘star’ in the film and kept everything moving smoothly during production. We also express our sincere gratitude to Pete Dillon, the Sterling Park District, and curator Erin Thompson for allowing us to film in the beautiful Dillon Home.”

Sons & Daughters of Thunder is slated for national release in April 2019 with screenings in independent theaters and film festivals. It will be released nationally on DVD in late July, followed by broadcasts on PBS stations. For more information about Sons & Daughters of Thunder, visit www.LaneRebelsMovie.com.

Dillon Home curator Erin Thompson lights candles for filming.

Sons & Daughters of Thunder was partially funded by a grant from the Quad City Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, with support from the Friends of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation, and the Bix Biederbecke Inn. The Moline Foundation and the Shell Rock Community Historical Society served as the fiscal sponsors on the film project.

The Rundles are the producers of multiple award-winning historical documentaries and the Mid-America Emmy® nominated documentaries Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City, Country School: One Room – One Nation and Letters Home to Hero Street.