Since September, Tamara Iorio has lived heavily in the past.
And now she anticipates a measure of the future with equal parts excitement and trepidation.
Her volunteer contributions since fall, along with others’ work for a big history project will hit the big screen April 17. So it will be when the first two parts of the local history documentary “It Began With Bartholomew” premiere for free at YES Cinema in downtown Columbus. The film is a joint effort between the Bartholomew County Public Library and the Bartholomew County Historical Society as part of the year-long Columbus Area Bicentennial.
“I am thrilled,” said the Bartholomew County historian who wrote the script. “Yet, I am also a little nervous. Inevitably, there’s no way that we didn’t miss something — or wish that we had included maybe something else.
“So, I probably will feel sad the first time someone says. ‘Oh, I really wish you had included this or that.'”
A four-person volunteer team with an $11,000 budget from the library worked tirelessly with the Terre Haute-based media firm Envisionary to produce the five-part film with a range of recorded interviews, maps, file photos, drone footage, you name it. Local broadcasting veteran John Foster narrates.
Longtime Bartholomew County Historical Society volunteer Candy Carr conceived of the documentary idea.
“It is much more than what we envisioned,” Carr said. “We could not be happier. … It just kind of grew and grew. It’s something we’re very proud of.”
Carr’s son, Luke Carr, a videographer with Envisionary, did some of the shooting, including some creative cityscape shots that viewers will clearly notice.
Library director Jason Hatton, a member of the documentary committee, hopes to stir more publicity as the show dates draw closer. After the showings at YES, each segment of the film will be released weekly on the library’s and historical society’s website and social media for members of the public to view as they wish.
He’s doing all he can to spread the word.
“I don’t know that there’s quite enough buzz just yet,” Hatton said. “But we definitely want there to be a sense of excitement.”
Hatton mentioned that, among other things, he believes viewers will appreciate how the video includes details of the county’s smaller communities such as Azalia. A forthcoming hardcover bicentennial book from Iorio also will emphasize the surrounding rural areas.
Larry Perkinson, who grew up near Azalia and attended first grade plus fifth through eighth grade at Azalia School, went on camera at the Sandcreek Friends Church there to talk about the small community’s link to the Civil War, the Underground Railroad, and the infamous Reno Gang getting away with a $10,000 heist after blowing open a safe, among other happenings.
He is forthright about why the area’s smaller communities deserve a turn in the spotlight — an element near and dear to the hearts of the film’s organizers.
“I think it’s a misconception that you’ve got to be the biggest dot on the map to have real significance in history,” Perkinson said.
Diane Robbins, executive director of the Bartholomew County Historical Society, is on the bicentennial steering committee and is heading the Legacy Committee. She loves the film, and believes audiences will love it, too.
“It’s fantastic,” Robbins said. “It’s very professionally done.”
She especially likes how the documentary regularly shows sights as they appeared years ago, and as they appear today.
“You get a good sense of then and now,” she said.
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What: Showings of “It Began With Bartholomew,” the five-part, 2-hour, 45-minute documentary summarizing Bartholomew County’s 200-year history.
Showtimes: The film will be shown in two sections. The public premiere of the first section, which will include Parts 1 and 2, will be at 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on April 17, followed by a question-and-answer session with the writers, producers, and local historians. Further showings are at 6:30 p.m. April 20 and April 21 and 10 a.m. April 24.
The public premiere of the second section which consists of Parts 3, 4, and 5 will be at 10 and 10:30 a.m. May 1, followed by another question-and-answer session. Other showings of that section will be 6:30 p.m. May 4 and May 5 and 10 a.m. May 8. After these dates, segments of the documentary will be released monthly online.
Where: Nonprofit YES Cinema, 328 Jackson St. in downtown Columbus.
Admission: Free, but donations will be accepted.
Information: mybcpl.org
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