Behind the Camera

 

Kelly & Tammy Rundle, Fourth Wall Films.

KELLY RUNDLE - Director, Writer
The producer-director-writer of the Hero Street documentary series is Emmy®-nominated documentary filmmaker Kelly Rundle. He has been producing, directing and editing documentaries and other media projects for more than 25 years.  Kelly was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and grew up in East Moline, Illinois, one of the Quad Cities. He graduated with honors from Park University in Kansas City. Later he worked in the International Theatrical Division of Sony Pictures Entertainment® and in advertising for Deutsch LA. Kelly, along with wife Tammy, formed their independent production company Fourth Wall Films in Los Angeles, California and they are now based in Moline, Illinois. Kelly and Tammy are the recipients of numerous regional Emmy awards, film festival Best Documentary awards, film festival Official Selections, humanities awards, and Telly awards.

TAMMY RUNDLE - Producer, Writer
The producer-writer of the Hero Street Documentary Film Series is Emmy®-nominated documentary filmmaker Tammy Rundle. She has been producing and writing documentaries and other media projects for more than 25 years. Tammy is a Waterloo, Iowa native and she graduated with honors from Park University in Kansas City, Missouri.  She worked in advertising for Los Angeles Magazine and later for Sierra Investment Management. She and her husband, Kelly, lived in Los Angeles, California for 18 years. In 2007 they relocated their independent production company Fourth Wall Films in the Illinois/Iowa Quad Cities area where they continue to focus their cameras on Midwestern history stories.

TOGETHER, THE RUNDLES are the producers of seven Mid America Emmy® nominated historical documentaries (9 nominations total):  Over & Under: Wildlife Crossings, Becoming Harriet Beecher Stowe, Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City, River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6, Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT-PBS) and Country School: One Room – One Nation, the docudrama Sons & Daughters of Thunder, and the award-winning and critically-acclaimed documentary films Lost Nation: The Ioway 1, 2 & 3 and Villisca: Living with a Mystery.

FILMOGRAPHY

Villisca: Living with a Mystery spent 15 months in theaters in more than 60 cities, was an official selection at several film festivals and won the Best Documentary award at the 2006 CRI Film Festival.  It qualified for the 2005 Academy Award® competition in the Documentary Feature Film category.  The documentary has enjoyed a national DVD release and to continues to air periodically on Midwestern PBS stations.

Lost Nation: The Ioway 1, 2 & 3 The 3-part film series garnered several film festival awards including Best Documentary at the International Cherokee Film Festival.  It was an Official Selection in the Archaeology Channel’s International Film Festival and it won a 2008 and 2013 Telly Award®.  The Ioway film series has screened in over 70 cities, was released nationally on DVD and was broadcast on PBS stations throughout the Midwest.

Country School: One Room - One Nation received a 2012 Regional Emmy® nomination in the Historical Documentary category.  The film won a 2012 Telly Award® and was an Official Selection and award-winner at several film festivals.  It received special awards of excellence from Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area and the Country School Association of America.   Country School was released nationally on DVD in 2011 and broadcast on Midwestern PBS stations in 2012.

Letters Home to Hero Street--Frank Sandoval's Story co-produced with Lora Adams/WQPT-PBS, the documentary received a 2015 Mid America Emmy® nomination in the Historical Documentary category.  The film won a Silver Award at the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival and was an Official Selection at the L.A. Cinefest.  Letters Home to Hero Street was released nationally on DVD in 2015 and broadcast on Midwestern PBS stations.  The film is also featured on the national PBS Learning Media website along with associated lesson plans for teachers. The film stars Eric Juarez (Frank Sandoval), Maya Chavez, Cindy Ramos, and JJ Wielenga.

The Barn Raisers  The film won a Telly Award® and was an Official Selection and award-winner at several film festivals.  The Barn Raisers premiered at the Putnam Giant Screen in January 2017 and was released nationally on DVD and broadcast on Midwestern PBS stations in 2017.

Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City visitors center film was produced in 2017 for the State of South Dakota for their newest state park--Good Earth at Blood Run. The film was nominated for a Mid America Emmy®. It also won a Telly Award and several film festival awards.

The Amish Incident: Rural Conflict and Compromise (part 1) and The Amish Incident: Wisconsin vs Yoder (part 2) had their broadcast PREMIERE on WQPT-PBS in February 2019 and 2020. They are currently screening in film festivals and will be available as a set on DVD in 2022.

Sons & Daughters of Thunder (docudrama) premiered on the Putnam National Geographic Giant Screen in the Quad Cities and at the Garfield Theater in Cincinnati, Ohio in March 2019. The film won 6 Iowa Motion Picture Awards and was nominated for 3 2020 Mid-America Emmys. The film is based on an award-winning play by Earlene Hawley and Curtis Heeter.

Becoming Harriet Beecher Stowe Previewed in Cincinatti, Ohio and aired on Midwestern PBS stations in 2019. The film received a 2020 Mid-America Emmy nomination and is available on DVD via Amazon, and streaming.

Over & Under: Wildlife Crossings is an award-winning short documentary with numerous Official Selections at Environmental Film Festival nationwide. It won an Iowa Motion Picture Association award and received a 2021 Mid-America Emmy nomination in the Environmental/Science category.

Riding the Rails to Hero Street previewed to a full house in May 2019 at St. Ambrose University at a Humanities Iowa screening/discussion event. The film premiered alongside A Bridge too Far from Hero Street on the eve of Veteran's Day 2019 on the Putnam National Geographic Giant Screen in the Quad Cities to a sold out crowd. It has aired on Midwestern PBS stations and was released natonally on DVD.

A Bridge too Far from Hero Street--William Sandoval's Story, part three in the Hero Street documentary series, premiered alongside Riding the Rails to Hero Street on the eve of Veteran's Day 2019 on the Putnam National Geographic Giant Screen in the Quad Cities to a sold out crowd. It has aired on Midwestern PBS stations and was released natonally on DVD.

An Infantryman from Hero Street--Joseph Sandoval's Story, part four in the Hero Street documentary series, is in post-production and will be released in 2022. Premiere details will be posted here! The film stars Emmanuel Juarez (Joseph Sandoval) and Eric Juarez (Frank Sandoval).

Resurrecting Forest Grove, a new documentary tells the dramatic true story behind the seemingly-impossible task of restoring a vintage one-room school to its 1920s appearance. 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. To be released in 2022.

Jean Seberg: Actress Activist Icon Produced by Emmy® nominated and award-winning filmmakers Garry McGee (McMarr, Ltd.), Kelly Rundle, and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films), the award-winning film is the first documentary to focus on the private side of the Marshalltown, Iowa native and international movie star. Seberg’s offscreen civil rights activism made her a target of the F.B.I.’s COINTELPRO. Their plan to “neutralize” Seberg initiated a downward spiral leading to her mysterious and untimely death in Paris. Currently in film festivals. To be released nationally in 2022.

UPCOMING

The Last to Fall from Hero Street--John Muno's Story, part 9 in the Hero Street documentary series, is in post-production and will be premiere November 8, 2025 on the Putnam Giant Screen in Davenport.

Peshtigo: American Firestorm a feature documentary about the world's deadliest wildfire, which took place in October 1871 in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. Tentative release date is October 2026.

A World Away from Hero Street--Joe Gomez's Story, part 8 in the Hero Street documentary series is currently in production. Tentative release date is November 2026.