January 2009

Leading up to the 2009 Academy Awards announcement, read some recent blog coverage of At the Death House Door with this Steve James interview by "Movie Mom." The film airs on IFC again on January 6th at 5:30pm (CST).

Kartemquin's Milking the Rhino will be shown at this year's Honolulu International Film Festival as the recipient of the Silver Lei Award. Congratulations to the crew!

Mark your calendars now! Three Kartemquin films (Milking the Rhino, Stevie and In the Family) are being featured in an upcoming series of ten films honoring the centennial of the University of Chicago's school of social service.

From their website: Born from the ideals for change of the Progressive Era, the School of Social Service Administration has been an advocate and resource for the disadvantaged in Chicago for 100 years. SSA has a history of impact on the issues that are central to the lives of the city’s citizens, families, and neighborhoods: Poverty. Education. Family support. Mental illness. Crime. Urban development. Health care. Housing. Substance abuse. Child welfare. Employment. That legacy continues today.

In light of this storied legacy, Doc and the SSA (with special thanks to Kartemquin Films, three of whose titles we’re showing in the series) present ten films that relate to a broad range of social service issues.

Read more about the series and get details on their website.

Kartemquin's Justine Nagan is featured in this month's Chicago Magazine. Check it out. She talks about the leadership transition at Kartemquin and her upcoming film Typeface.

Read these recent reviews of Kartemquin films: Milking the Rhino is covered in Variety and At the Death House Door is featured in the Chicago Reader's Best of 2008.

With support from The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Peter and Lucy Ascoli Family Fund of The Chicago Community Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Ford Foundation and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Kartemquin Films is excited to finally announce that their epic seven-hour series, The New Americans is now available on a 2-DVD set. Extras include: additional scenes, character updates and a Spanish SAP track. Order it now!

Kartemquin is thrilled to announce that Peter Gilbert and Steve James have been nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for At the Death House Door. It is Peter's third DGA nomination (he won in 1998 with Jerry Blumenthal and Gordon Quinn for Vietnam: Long Time Coming). It is Steve's second nomination, having previously won for Hoop Dreams.

The winners will be announced at the 61st Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 31, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. Read more.

Kartemquin's Steve James will curate a series of sports films for Full Frame's 2009 thematic program, "This Sporting Life" . In recent years, Full Frame has screened James’ Stevie, Reel Paradise, and At the Death House Door, which received the Inspiration Award at the festival last year.

James describes his involvement, “When Full Frame approached me about curating a series of sports films, it took me two seconds to say yes. Maybe it has something to do with a lifelong fascination with sports and film. And I’ve been a fan of how Full Frame selects a topic each year to do a series of films around. It challenges the viewer to engage with documentaries both thematically and historically, something that doesn’t happen enough in the festival world.”

Get more information.

Kartemquin's Milking the Rhino in an official selection of the 2009 Big Sky, the biggest film festival in Montana. Associate Producer Xan Aranda will attend on behalf of the film. Get more information.

As we move into 2009, we celebrate the 15th anniversary of Kartemquin's classic film, Hoop Dreams. Stay tuned for events over the course of the year ahead. In the meantime, read this great blog post from David Sikich, a friend of Kartemquin and half of the PR team that repped the film during its initial release.

Kartemquin is sad to share the passing of Woody Wickham, a good friend of the organization. Mr. Wickham died of cancer in his Chicago home on Sunday, January 18th. Woody was a strong supporter of Kartemquin Films and was an early backer of Hoop Dreams during his work at the MacArthur Foundation. Gordon Quinn describes him as "a brilliant and visionary guy" in Wickham's obituary in the Chicago Tribune.

Our thoughts are with his friends and family. He will be missed.

As we wait to find out where Typeface will premiere this year, read this great piece in Pineapple Magazine about the film.

Last week Kartemquin's Gordon Quinn traveled to Grayslake Central High School to participate in an Inquiring Nuns screening. Gordon answered questions about the film from an enthusiastic group of over 50 high school students in attendance. Several of the students had used the film as an inspiration to make their own documentaries, also screened at the event.

Last weekend Executive Producer Gordon Quinn and Co-Director/Cinematographer Peter Gilbert accepted the first ever outreach award from the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty for At the Death House Door. The award, which recognizes the successes of noteworthy leaders in the field, was given during the Coalition's annual conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, following a screening of the film. Peter also participated on the panel "Using the Arts to Make Change Happen," speaking about his experiences mobilizing audiences to effect change with the film.

Get your tickets now! Kartemquin Films is proud to announce that the organization is receiving the Crossroads Fund's 2009 Ron Sable Award for Activism. Join us March 13th as we accept the award and help raise funds for Crossroads and the important work they do.

Kartemquin's Gordon Quinn will participate in a panel at the "Mashup/Remix Conference 2009" held by the Moritz School of Law, March 12-13. Get the full lineup. Join the facebook group.