The First Annual Northwest Illinois Film Festival showcased two new documentaries from Fourth Wall Films, Riding the Rails to Hero Street and A Bridge too Far from Hero Street, on Wednesday evening, August 26th at the Midway Drive-In Theatre in Sterling, Illinois. The trailer of their new award-winning docudrama Sons & Daughters of Thunder opened the evening festivities. Thunder won seven awards at the 29th Iowa Motion Picture Association's award ceremony on August 8th including the Top Awards for Best Feature Film, Direction, Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Score and two Awards of Achievement for Best Actress and Editing. Portions of the docudrama were shot at the Dillon Home Museum in Sterling.
Fourth Wall Films producers Kelly and Tammy Rundle joined a number of other filmmakers for the evening celebration of independent filmmaking in Illinois. Approximately 80 cars drove in for the festival with attendees practicing safe distancing and following pandemic rules.
"It was a magical evening seeing the Thunder trailer light up the screen at dusk," said producer Tammy Rundle. "We had to capture it on video to share with the cast and crew, and especially Earlene Hawley, who wrote the play in which the film is based. It was our first drive-in film exhibition and rather thrilling!"
"The Northwest Illinois Film Office is dedicated to assisting film projects find the right locations, navigate local regulations and State film incentives, and identify local cast, crew and supply chain. The film office also promotes Illinois filmmakers and their projects through events like our annual Northwest Illinois Film Festival," said Gary Camarano, Executive Director.
Gary Camarano envisioned a two-day festival featuring feature-length films (including Sons & Daughters of Thunder) and short films in multiple venues in several NW Illinois cities, but COVID derailed that plan.
"Gary Camarano was determined to have a safe film festival for attendees to enjoy, and adapted the 'plan' to showcase short films produced by independent Illinois filmmakers at the Midway Drive-In Theater. It was a great success," said director Kelly Rundle. "We are very gratified that the Thunder trailer was part of the opening of the exhibition, and that our two new Hero Street documentaries were selected by invitation for the festival."
The Rundles’ Hero Street proposed ten-part documentary series, will explore the personal and family sagas behind each of the eight heroes and tell an unforgettable true story of American courage, character, and perseverance. Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT) was the first film created for the series, and it received a Mid-America Emmy-nomination. Letters Home is available with lesson plans to teachers nation-wide via the PBS Learning Media website.
Sons & Daughters of Thunder was partially funded by a grant from the Quad City Arts, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, with support from 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 film is co-produced by Kelly & Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films and Kent Hawley. Kimberly Kurtenbach is the Executive Producer of the film.
Kelly & Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films 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, River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 and Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT).
To order any of Fourth Wall Films documentaries or film projects on DVD or view them via streaming, visit SHOP FOURTH WALL FILMS.
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