July 22, 2019
Kristina Smith
Marketing Committee chairman
American Presidents Film & Literary Festival
Fremont, OH
43420
800-998-7737, ext. 217
ksmith@rbhayes.org
Short film on American Civil War accepted to American Presidents Film & Literary Festival
FREMONT, Ohio – A film about injured Union troops called to repel a Confederate attack on Washington, D.C., during the Civil War is one of the films that will be shown this fall at the American Presidents Film & Literary Festival.
“The Invalid Corps,” directed by Day Al-Mohamed, is one of the short films that will be featured at the festival Oct. 4-6 at various locations in Fremont.
A schedule of showtimes and tickets will be available at americanpresidentsfilmfestival.org.
“The Invalid Corps” examines Confederate Gen. Jubal Early’s surprise raid that took him to the very gates of Washington, D.C., on July 1863 and the injured Union troops that kept the Confederates from taking the city.
Almost every able-bodied soldier from the Union had already been sent south for the siege of Petersburg, more than 100 miles away. Washington, D.C., was in a panic.
The only defenders remaining were clerks, government officials, and the Invalid Corps. Made up of men injured in battle or by disease, these “hopeless cripples” needed to hold out for a desperate 24 hours until Union Gen. Grant could send reinforcements. With Lincoln himself on the ramparts, they could not afford to fail.
This film will be shown during the short film block throughout the weekend at The Strand Concert Theater in downtown Fremont. The block will include five other short films with run times ranging from 7 and a half minutes to 28 minutes.
Each of the films selected for this festival has some connection to the American presidency and touch in some way, directly or loosely, on the themes of people, places, politics, and power.
Awards will be given for the best feature-length film, best short film, best production, and people’s choice. Attendees can vote for their favorite film through the people’s choice contest. Ballot boxes will be located at each theater.
The American Presidents Film & Literary Festival is the only film and literary festival in the United States to focus on the American presidency. It will take place at The Strand Concert Theater, Fremont Middle School, the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Birchard Public Library, and Live Edge Center.
In addition to films, the festival includes a cooking class with a former White House chef, talks by authors and historians, an escape room geared toward teens, lantern tours of the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums’ grounds with living history presenters, a red carpet event with a keynote talk about Adrian Miller, author of “The President’s Kitchen Cabinet” and more.
The American Presidents Film & Literary Festival is organized by the Liberty and Learning Foundation, Fremont City Schools, Birchard Public Library, Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, and Downtown Fremont.
The festival is committed to providing a place for expanded national and international understanding of the history and current events that have and continue to shape and influence the President of the United States. Utilizing the site and community of America’s first presidential library and museum, filmmakers, film professionals, and authors will inspire audiences to explore, understand, critique and analyze the people, places, politics, and power surrounding the American Presidency.
For information, visit americanpresidentsfilmfestival.org and follow on Facebook and Twitter at @ampresfilmlit.