The subject of the upcoming documentary: Frederick Douglass

Kelly (left) and Tammy Rundle, pose for their film Villisca: Living with a Mystery

Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films have won the International Documentary Association’s (IDA) annual Documentary Dream Package, an award sponsored in part by ARRI CSC that includes a Super 16 mm camera rental. The Rundles plan to use the prize to begin production on their film, The Storm, The Whirlwind, The Earthquake: Frederick Douglass.

To help filmmakers make their visions a reality, a complete package was put together that would enable production of a documentary from start to finish. Raffle tickets were sold, with proceeds going to the IDA. The prize includes four weeks rental of a Super 16 mm camera package (including batteries, filters, tripod, zoom lens and magazines) from ARRI CSC, 10,000 feet of Kodak Motion Picture 16 mm film, processing at FotoKem Film & Video, a copy of Production Studio software courtesy of Adobe Systems, Inc., and a 12-hour telecine transfer from Laser Pacific. The $30,000 package is raffled off yearly as part of the IDA Awards.

“We are very pleased to be the recipients of these valuable production resources,” says producer-writer-director Kelly Rundle.  “The IDA is the preeminent professional association for documentary filmmakers.  We are eager to use this award to begin an exciting and important historical project.”
With many documentaries opting to go the digital video route, Kelly feels The Storm, The Whirlwind, The Earthquake: Frederick Douglass would benefit from shooting on film stock. He says, “As good as digital technology is, film is still the only medium to provide both a rich look of quality and a stable archival medium.  Being able to say a project was ‘shot-on-film’ raises its perceived value, stature and flexibility in the marketplace.  It's a plus when negotiating with distributors.  Originating on film also provides the greatest degree of flexibility in post.”

Frederick Douglass is best known as a former slave-turned abolitionist and women’s suffrage supporter.  He taught himself to read and was a widely respected, highly effective orator as well as an advocate for constitutional amendments that guaranteed voting rights and civil liberties for blacks.  As an advisor to Abraham Lincoln, Douglass urged the President to issue an emancipation proclamation, which Lincoln did following the Union victory at the bloody Battle of Antietam in 1862.

The Storm, The Whirlwind, The Earthquake: Frederick Douglass is a documentary based on Douglass' books and speeches. Douglass will be "interviewed" by a newspaper reporter in 1870. This material will be intercut with archival photographs and documents, and excerpts from Douglass' speeches. To obtain a period look, Phoenix, Ariz.- based cinematographer Les Bradley of Morr Film & Video will light by utilizing and mimicking natural light and the film will be shot in historical locations.

Actor Mark Winn has been cast to play Douglass onscreen.  Winn previously worked for Steven Spielberg and James Cameron, and has been featured in dramas and documentaries on CBS, ABC, and the Discovery Channel in addition to his numerous live theater performances.

The Rundles are the owners of Fourth Wall Films, an independent film and video production company, and the producers of the critically acclaimed documentary feature film Villisca: Living with a Mystery (VilliscaMovie.com). Villisca spent 14-months in theaters and was released on DVD in October 2005.  They are currently in production on Lost Nation: The Ioway, a documentary exploring Iowa’s original Native American inhabitants, the gradual loss of their ancestral lands, and the dissolution of their unique culture.

This is the first time New York-based rental house ARRI CSC has contributed to the IDA Documentary Dream Package. “Film is ideal for this documentary project because we are utilizing a reenactment approach that can be very carefully planned. Our first historical documentary feature Villisca: Living with a Mystery was also shot on film using Arriflex cameras, and the image quality allowed it to enjoy a 49-city theatrical release.  With sufficient budget and expertise, film is still an excellent acquisition medium for documentary filmmakers,” says Kelly.

The IDA was founded in 1982 as a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to supporting the efforts of nonfiction film and video makers throughout the United States and the world; promoting the documentary form; and expanding opportunities for the production, distribution, and exhibition of documentary. The IDA is committed to continuing its efforts to increase public appreciation and demand for documentary films, videos, and television programs across all ethnic, political and socioeconomic boundaries.

An Tran