May 2008

A Loyola University student recently created a blog inspired by Kartemquin’s Inspiring Nuns. Check it out.

Kartemquin was honored with an “Award of Excellence” Hugo for television production last night in front of a sold out crowd at the Chicago Cultural Center. Remarks about Kartemquin’s 42 year body of work were given by John Callaway, Rich Moskal and Michael Kutza. After a brief clip highlighting Kartemquin’s work, Gordon Quinn accepted the Hugo on Kartemquin’s behalf. A fun time was had by all- thanks to Cinema Chicago for the recognition.

Kartemquin's Steve James was quoted in an article today in the Philanthrophy News Digest about the ever-changing documentary funding landscape. Kartemquin has strived to build strong relationships with foundations over time to help support documentary work, particularly since the break-out success of our film Hoop Dreams.

If you can’t make the Chicago premiere of At the Death House Door during its run at the Siskel, you have another chance!

Kartemquin Films, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Illinois, the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law, and The Public Square at the Illinois Humanities Council present…

Civic Cinema

At the Death House Door Screening and Discussion Wednesday, May 28

7:00 PM - 9:30 PM (doors open at 6:30)

Thorne Auditorium, Northwestern University School of Law

375 East Chicago Avenue

This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are required. Email events@prairie.org or call 312-422-5580.

After the screening, there will be a discussion featuring Pickett, Chicago Tribune reporter Steve Mills, filmmakers Steve James and Peter Gilbert, Ed Yohnka of the ACLU of Illinois, and Rob Warden, Executive Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. At the Death House Door tells the story of Rev. Carroll Pickett, who served 15 years as the death house chaplain to the infamous “Walls” prison unit in Huntsville, Texas and presided over 95 executions, including the world‚s first lethal injection. The film particularly focuses on how Pickett was affected by Carlos De Luna, one of the inmates he counseled and who is now widely-regarded as wrongfully convicted˜based on evidence uncovered by Chicago Tribune reporters Steve Mills and Maurice Possley. It is a film about of the failures of the criminal justice system; about one man‚s spiritual and moral journey; and how this very final act of punishment does not bring closure.

Additionally, The Documentary Channel Blog recently covered the film. Read the post.

The Northwestern Memorial Foundation hosted a sneak preview of In the Family for friends of the organization last night at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. The crowd participated in a panel discussion with filmmaker Joanna Rudnick and experts in the field following the film.

Get your tickets now while they're still available for the Chicago premiere of At the Death House Door this Saturday! The film opens downtown at 8pm at the Siskel Film Center. If you can't make it for the premiere, the award-winning doc will continue to play the Siskel the remainder of the week.

The film has been generating significant press lately, including this piece on the Huffington Post.

There's a flurry of press activity this morning in anticipation of the At the Death House Door Chicago premiere tomorrow. Read reviews in the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times. Listen to an interview with the filmmakers on WBEZ's Eight Forty-Eight, and read coverage in the Chicago Reader and on Gaper's Block.

Kartemquin's Jim Morrissette and Julie Englander met with 7th and 8th grade video students at the Eli Whitney/LVCDC Community School in Little Village on Thursday, where they screened clips from Now We Live on Clifton, The New Americans, and a few of Jim's PSAs, and talked about working as documentary filmmakers. The Little Village community and LVCDC had been the subjects of some Kartemquin filming in the winter, and this class was a great opportunity to demonstrate a little bit more of what Kartemquin does, as well as introduce ourselves to a new generation of video fans!

Join us for a discussion on Capital Punishment featuring clips from Kartemquin's At the Death House Door tomorrow at noon in San Francisco. For more information, and to RSVP, click here.

Kartemquin's At the Death House Door played to a sold-out crowd Saturday night at the Gene Siskel Film Center. A lively discussion followed the screening. If you missed the premiere, you can still get tickets for showings during the week.

At the Death House Door will have its Washington DC premiere this Wednesday night at 7pm. We hope you can join us. There will be a post-screening discussion with Rev. Carroll Pickett, filmmakers Steve James and Peter Gilbert, and Diann Rust-Tierney, Exec. Dir. National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. The panel will be moderated by Kojo Nnamdi, NPR host. The screening is presented by AFI SILVERDOCS and the Center for Social Media at American University.

AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center

8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, Maryland

Tickets available here.

Kartemquin's Gordon Quinn and Justine Nagan participated Saturday in Northwestern University's first-annual social-issue media symposium. Gordon held a master class for 10 students on documentary filmmaking and Justine spoke on a panel about creating and distributing social-issue films with representatives from Participant Media and California Newsreel. The event was covered by the Northwestern press.

Production is wrapped on Typeface, and the filmmakers are heading into the editing room. As we work to raise completion funds for the film, several blogs have picked up the cause to help. Check out recent posts on Design Observer and Typophile.

A reminder about all of the fantastic and free upcoming Kartemquin screenings. Come support your local documentarians.

Come to the Chicago premiere of Kartemquin's In the Family directed by Joanna Rudnick. Joanna will be present at both screenings, and following the film stay for a panel discussion with the filmmaker and leaders in the field.

• Monday, May 19; 7 pm
• Thorne Auditorium, Arthur Rubloff Building at Northwestern University
• 375 East Chicago Avenue Chicago, IL

• Wednesday, May 21; 7 pm
• Ryan Family Auditorium, Technological Institute at Northwestern University
• 2145 Sheridan Road Evanston, IL

Both screenings are free and open to the public. Seating is first come, first served.

Then, Kartemquin Films, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Illinois, the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law, and The Public Square at the Illinois Humanities Council present…

At the Death House Door Screening and Discussion Wednesday, May 28

7:00 PM - 9:30 PM (doors open at 6:30)

Thorne Auditorium, Northwestern University School of Law 375 East Chicago Avenue

This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are required. Email events@prairie.org or call 312-422-5580.

After the screening, there will be a discussion featuring Pickett, Chicago Tribune reporter Steve Mills, filmmakers Steve James and Peter Gilbert, Ed Yohnka of the ACLU of Illinois, and Rob Warden, Executive Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law.

The acclaimed Mike Shea documentary, And This is Free, will be featured during the Blues Season Maxwell Street Film Series on Saturday, May 24 at 1:00pm at the Chicago Cultural Center. Kartemquin's Gordon Quinn will introduce the film as he worked on the film, about the Maxwell Street Market and blues scene, with Howard Alk in the mid '60s . The series is free and open to the public. Get more information.

Kartemquin recently donated 200 copies of Hoop Dreams to the Chicago Public Schools district. The CPS Offices of Arts Education and Sports Administration are collaborating to distribute the film to schools around Chicago.

In anticipation of Monday's Chicago premiere of In the Family, read this review in the Chicago Sun Times.

Reverend Pickett, the subject of Kartemquin’s recent doc, At the Death House Door, will be interviewed today on NPR’s “Fresh Air.” Get the details

Additionally, you can watch an interview with the filmmakers by Chicago Tribune reporter Rob Elder, or tune in to KXLU online tomorrow night at 7pm for another interview with Steve James and Peter Gilbert. Or listen to a radio interview with Steve James on the Kojo Nnamdi Show.

Kartemquin is thrilled to announce that In the Family will have its festival premiere at the prestigious SILVERDOCS film festival this June. Details to come!

Join us for the kickoff of Rooftop Films 2008 summer season with a screening of Kartemquin’s award-winning doc, At the Death House Door, Saturday May 31st, on the lawn in Fort Greene Park (Brooklyn). Get more information.

The In the Family crew is thrilled to announce that President Bush has signed the landmark Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act into law. GINA is the first and only federal legislation that will provide protections against discrimination based on an individual’s genetic information in health insurance coverage and employment settings.

Also, in case you missed In the Family at its recent Chicago screenings, you have another chance! In the Family will have an encore Chicago screening as a part of the Midwest Independent Film Festival at Landmark Century on Tuesday night June 3rd. Get the details.

Kartemquin has been a frequent presence in Judy Hoffman’s documentary production class at the University of Chicago this week. On Tuesday, Gordon Quinn stopped by to talk about the process of making social issue docs, and on Thursday Leslie Simmer spoke with students about documentary editing.

And This is Free, the acclaimed documentary about Chicago’s Maxwell St. Market, created by Mike Shea, Howard Alk and Kartemquin’s Gordon Quinn is screening tomorrow afternoon at the Chicago Cultural Center. Get the details.

Kartemquin’s Joanna Rudnick was quoted in an article in today’s Naperville Sun about the passing of GINA legislation. Rudnick discusses In the Family and how the GINA law will effect her and other BRCA women.

Read this review of Kartemquin’s latest, At the Death House Door in today’s New York Times. If you haven’t had a chance to see the film yet in Chicago, a reminder to RSVP now for the free screening on Wednesday evening. The filmmakers and Reverend Pickett will be in attendance. Email events@prairie.org to reserve your seat.

Additionally, read a local Pioneer article on the film, as well as recent coverage by the Associated Press and Entertainment Weekly.

Add Kartemquin’s recent doc, Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita, to your Netflix queue now. The stem cell doc joins the growing list of other Kartemquin titles available on Netflix today.

Reverend Pickett, the subject of Kartemquin’s recent doc At the Death House Door, will be interviewed by two different Chicago radio stations tomorrow in anticipation of tomorrow night’s screening. Please tune in to WLS AM 890 at 10am and then to the John Williams show on WGN AM 720 at 2pm.

Following the annual FORCE conference, and the local Chicago sneak peeks, In the Family is clearly resonating with audiences. Read responses on several blogs: total control program, women going down and diva debbi.

Many thanks to the Center on Wrongful Convictions at NWU, the ACLU, the ACLU of Illinois, the Public Square, The Chicago Tribune Foundation and especially to the hundreds of people who came out last night to watch the film. It was a powerful night of documentary and discussion.

If you missed it, you can tune in and watch its broadcast tonight on IFC, or catch it on Comcast OnDemand.