By the HAYS ARTS COUNCIL
You may remember that in the fall of 2017, the Hays Arts Council acquired the licensing rights to present “A Quiet America,” the 1976 Swiss documentary on Hays, Kansas. The HAC presented the film in honor of our 50th anniversary and Hays’ 150th anniversary. Of course, not everyone who was interested was able to attend our screening in Beach/Schmidt and, even now, we continue to receive questions and inquiries about the film.
Well, in light of current circumstances, the HAC wanted to find a special and unique cultural event during what was to have been the Spring Art Walk weekend when, under normal circumstances, we would have all gathered and connected to celebrate the arts in all its wonderful forms. Well, though we won’t be able to connect physically, we can connect through a shared history and nostalgia.
After seeing the enthusiasm for Hays’ recent “dragging Main” event and seeing how much everyone enjoyed the nostalgia it generated, we were reminded of the “dragging Main” scenes in that ’76 documentary. . . and how much seeing those scenes delighted our Beach/Schmidt audience. So, the Hays Arts Council has again acquired the rights from Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), the producers of the film, and will again share it with you. . . this time through a television broadcast.
The HAC reached out to FHSU’s Tiger Media Network who has a broadcast channel on each of the cable television companies that serve Ellis County – Nex-Tech (on channel 102) and Eagle Communications (on channel 17). Working with them, we will again be sharing the 1976 “A Quiet America” and the 2015 sequel produced by a member of the original Swiss production team.
The television times for the 2-hour broadcast are:
Saturday, April 25 at 7 p.m.
and Sunday, April 26 at 2 p.m.
We are hoping that sharing this film will serve as a pleasant distraction from our collective isolation and disconcerting “current events” — while providing this fascinating look into how our community has changed in 45 years, how we have grown and adapted to those changes, and reminding us how we will find a way to again adapt to whatever changes are to come.
Please share this broadcast information with those you know.
We hope you’ll be watching with us. And, if you can’t access these television broadcasts, be patient. The HAC has also been granted the rights to stream the films, and we hope to be set up to do so in the week following the broadcast, making it available online for at least several months.
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If you’re interested a little backstory on the film, read on:
In 1976, at the height of the international interest in the bicentennial of the United States, countries around the world demonstrated a fascination for cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. But a Swiss television company wanted to show another image of America, one of a small town, like thousands of others across the country at that time, and where 1/3 of Americans lived. They explored a number of locations, ultimately selecting Hays, Kansas.
For several weeks in the spring of 1976, a Swiss production team led by Jean-Jacques Legrange and Marc Schindler traveled the streets of Hays, discovered its history, met its people, and visited churches, businesses, bingo halls, VFW dinners, livestock auctions, newspaper, radio and television stations, and even spent a little time with the locals “dragging Main.”
The production team was impressed by the welcome of kindness and hospitality they received. As the community continued to open its doors to the production team, they attended a traditional Volga German wedding dance, a Rotary club meeting, and spent time with local law enforcement. They filmed the average, everyday life of our community nearly 45 years ago.
Their 83-minute film was broadcast in Switzerland in September of 1976. Until the Hays Arts Council screening in 2017, the film had not been publicly shown outside of Switzerland, Germany and France.
In August of 2015, nearly 40 years later, Marc Schindler, a member of the original production team, returned to Hays to revisit the city and see if it was still “A Quiet America.” Thanks to the internet, he was able to connect with some of the people he had met in 1976. For three days, he rediscovered Hays, what changed, and what had not. He interviewed some of the witnesses to the past and citizens of the present. The result of that visit, Back to Hays, provided a new time-capsule treasure for our community and an addendum to “A Quiet America.”