A special 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 showcased at the Clooney Community Center, 114 Bracken Street in Augusta, Kentucky on Friday, September 20th at 7:00 p.m. The event will benefit the preservation of the Augusta College Echo Hall historic site. Q&A with the filmmakers will follow the film. The event is sponsored by the Augusta College Echo Hall Association.
Admission is FREE, but tickets must be reserved, as seating is limited. To reserve a ticket, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/movie-screening-of-sons-daughters-of-thunder-tickets-69239137123 . Free-will donations to help the continued preservation work of historic Echo Hall are welcome at the event.
“Sons & Daughters of Thunder is a fascinating, inspiring slice of influential U.S. history told with characteristic grace, intelligence and emotional power…” wrote Jonathan Turner, film reviewer from the Dispatch-Argus.
In the early 19th Century, Christianity was at a crossroads. Fellows in the faith took up sides for or against the South’s peculiar institution of slavery based on their interpretation of the scriptures. In 1834, if polite discussion about abolishing slavery were considered inappropriate among Americans in Northern states, then eighteen days of public student-sponsored debates on the divisive subject at Lane Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio were scandalous.
Organized by Theodore Weld (Thomas Alan Taylor), one of the architects of the abolitionist movement, the shocking oratory sparked intense controversy and awakened a young Harriet Beecher Stowe (Jessica Taylor) to the horrors of slavery. When school trustees slapped a gag order on the "Lane Rebels," most of the students left the school in collective protest. Inspired by the debates and her first-hand observations of slavery across the Ohio River, Harriet’s novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was described by President Abraham Lincoln as the book that started the Civil War.
Sons & Daughters of Thunder is based on the play by Earlene Hawley and Curtis Heeter, and tells the unforgettable true story of the beginning of the end of slavery in America. The film was shot by award-winning director of photography Kevin Railsback and features an original score by William Campbell, the composer behind the Academy Award-nominated documentary “Lifeboat”. Executive Producer Kimberly Kurtenbach cast the film and stars as Catharine Beecher. Award-winning filmmaker Chris Ryder was the sound director for the film.
“It is exciting to screen Sons & Daughters of Thunder for this special fundraising event for Echo Hall, which has connections to a number of the Lane Rebels in the film,” said director Kelly Rundle. 2019 marks the 185th anniversary of the nation’s first public debates regarding the abolition of slavery, which took place at Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Augusta College graduates James A. Thome (played by Anthony Stratton in "Thunder") and John G. Fee were centrally involved in the debates and the exodus from Lane Theological Seminary.
“It is fitting to screen Sons & Daughters of Thunder in September. 169 years ago in September 1850 Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act—making it illegal for anyone to help an escaped slave. The law even allowed slave owners to travel into free states to reclaim fugitive slaves,” said producer Tammy Rundle. “This law, the Lane Debates, and other experiences in Cincinnati, all influenced Harriet Beecher Stowe as she wrote her history-changing book.”
“Arriving at the location where the story took place did seem very sacred,” said actor Thomas Alan Taylor who portrays firebrand abolitionist Theodore Weld in the film. “It was an honor to play a figure that had that kind of influence and helped shaped the ‘world’ around him, to spend time digging into his work, dangers that he faced. He was quite an exciting character.”
The producers note that the film is not for young children, and the 90-minute film’s detailed discussions of slavery might suggest a PG-13 rating.
Sons & Daughters of Thunder is slated for release in the fall of 2019 with screenings at film festivals and independent theaters, a national DVD release, followed by broadcasts and online streaming.
Sons & Daughters of Thunder was partially funded by a grant from the Quad City Arts--provided by the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Hubbell-Waterman Foundation and John Deere; and a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. The Moline Foundation and the Shell Rock Community Historical Society served as the fiscal sponsors for the project. For more information about Sons & Daughters of Thunder, visit www.LaneRebelsMovie.com.
The Rundles are the producers of the new documentary Becoming Harriet Beecher Stowe, the Emmy® nominated documentaries Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City, Letters Home to Hero Street (with WQPT-PBS), and Country School: One Room – One Nation. Other award-winning productions include Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg, Lost Nation: The Ioway, and The Barn Raisers.
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