Screening in Civic's Historic 19th Street Theatre
December 28, 2024
2:00 PM
Synopsis:
The Fries Rebellion Movie is a docudrama featuring historical events from The Fries Rebellion of 1798-1799 as told through modern day characters.
In this historic docudrama, places and events of the Fries Rebellion are seen through the eyes of a teenager, Kayla, who meets up with her Uncle Steve, a history professor, for assistance on her school report about the Fries Rebellion. Uncle Steve takes Kayla on a driving tour so she can see and experience some of the places where the Rebellion took place. As they take their tour through the historic sites of the tax revolt, Kayla begins to experience visions that make the rebellion unfold right before her eyes.
As Kayla observes these incredible, life-like visions of the rebellion, this simple search for information slowly begins to transform her understanding of her past and present. Kayla not only learns about local history and the ideological and political underpinnings of the Fries Rebellion, but also delves into other late 18th-century cultural issues including slavery, disease, and transportation. She experiences and sees that misguided charismatic leadership, fueled by anger, misinformation, fearmongering, bravado, and inflamed rhetoric can
quickly turn a well-established, tight-knit community of peaceful neighbors into violent foes whose disagreement causes innocent victims to be manipulated and to suffer.
With this film, audiences of all ages will be entertained and informed about this little-known insurrection that occurred primarily in the German-speaking populations in and surrounding the “Lehigh Hills” region of then Northampton, eastern Berks, upper Bucks, and upper Montgomery counties of Pennsylvania. Several of the scenes will feature original sites that still exist today.
Watch The Trailer:
