“Country School: One Room – One Nation” film to premiere at 2011 Historic School Summit as part of one room school houses program
Award-winning Filmmakers Tammy and Kelly Rundle spent two years visiting over 70 one-room schools for their most ambitious documentary to date, “Country School: One Room – One Nation.”
The critically-acclaimed documentary will make its Missouri premiere at 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 16, at the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center as part of University of Missouri Extension’s, “2011 Historic School Summit.”
Tickets for the movie are $5 per person and the screening event is open to the public.
Over 80 hours of interviews, vistas, and historic sites shot in all four seasons in Iowa and four other states have been distilled down to a feature-length documentary that tells the dramatic true story of the life, death, and rebirth of one-room schools in the Upper Midwest.
“They did what they were supposed to do,” said Iowa historian Dorothy Schwieder. “There was a time when they met the needs of society. There was also a time when they ceased to meet the needs of society.”
Along with the expected nostalgia, the Rundles’ journey revealed a few surprises: guns in school, bullying, lunch-stealing ponies, weather disasters, a country school designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and the passion former students, teachers, and preservationists have for these sometimes forgotten and neglected little schools.
“Country School” also takes a closer look at rural schools and how they attempted to unify American immigrants during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
“Country School: One Room – One Nation” received a special award from the National Park Service’s Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area and the Country School Association of America. The film also won Best Documentary at the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival, and it is also an Official Selection at the Landlocked Film Festival.
The first “Historic Schools Summit” is being held Friday, Sept. 16 and Saturday, Sept. 17, at the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center, 2400 S. Scenic, Ave., Springfield, Mo.
An event schedule and registration packet can be found at http://extension.missouri.edu/greene or picked up at the Greene County Extension Center, 2400 S. Scenic Ave., Springfield, Mo.
© 2012 The Ozarks Sentinel - The Leader in Ozarks News
Covering the Ozarks region with solid news content since 2005.
Send To A FriendLeave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Loading ...
