This dramatic feature by filmmaker and innovator Rob Nilsson tells the stark and powerful story of North Dakota grain farmers in 1915 as they struggle against the banks, railroads and the grain trade. The trilogy starts with “Prairie Fire” as 97-year-old ex-organizer and state poet Henry Martinson recounts the 1916 birth of the Socialist Nonpartisan League. His narrative is accompanied by images shot by Nilsson’s own grandfather, Frithjof Holmboe. The second segment ”Rebel Earth” in the then present-day world of the late 1970s finds Martinson, accompanied by a young farmer, revisiting the scenes of his life, seeking out the spot of his Divide County homestead. The final segment “Survivor”, finished the year before Martinson’s death, reunites him with his contemporaries from the WWI era. The Trilogy remains as a great example of the convergence of film and politics, optimism and the power we have when we come together.
Nilsson, a Cannes award-winning pioneer in digital filmmaking with political and social justice themes, will be on hand for Q&A after the 95 minute screening.
Refreshments available for sale.
Ticket donations at the door: $5 – 20. No one turned away for lack of funds.
RSVPs to dmjanson@sbcglobal.net appreciated for planning purposes
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Sebastopol Grange Hall
6000 Sebastopol Ave, Hwy 12
- Sebastopol