Colonial Williamsburg to host Ken Burns for preview of The American Revolution

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Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns is giving the Historic Triangle a sneak peek at his newest documentary, The American Revolution (airing on PBS on November 16). This free public preview event takes place March 25 at 8 p.m. in front of the Governor’s Palace in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area. Burns will kick off the event, hosted by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission (VA250), with live remarks about the project before previewing excerpts from the film on an outdoor screen. “It’s a thrill to share the film with Virginians, especially in Colonial Williamsburg, which appears many times in our film,” said Ken Burns. “As the capital city of Virginia, Williamsburg played a critical role on the road to revolution and around 250 years later, it was an essential resource and filming location for us to capture the look and feel of colonial life.”

Joining Burns at the event will be co-directors and producers Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt. Schmidt, who grew up in the Williamsburg area and worked at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation as a volunteer youth interpreter and member of the iconic Colonial Williamsburg Fifes & Drums, will also speak at the event. 

Filming for The American Revolution, which has been in production for eight years, took place in over 100 locations across the nation, but nowhere did the filmmakers shoot more footage than in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area. Eagle-eyed viewers will recognize Colonial Williamsburg landmarks including Raleigh Tavern, the grounds of the Governor’s Palace, the Capitol, the blacksmith shop and nearly 20 additional Colonial Williamsburg locations.