March 2009

“Revisiting the Scene: Quentin Young’s Chicago” a short documentary directed by longtime associate Judy Hoffman, and produced with the help of Kartemquin's Jim Morrisette, Leslie Simmer and Beckie Stocchetti, will premiere on March 7 at Rebel Without a Pause, Heath and Medicine Policy Research Group's gala event to celebrate the remarkable leadership and vision of their founder, Quentin Young MD.

Check out this online discussion featuring a clip from Kartemquin's In the Family on the Center for Social Media's blog.

Kartemquin's Gordon Quinn will be featured in a live interview tonight on internet radio show Digital Production Buzz at 8:26 CST.  Gordon will be speaking about Fair Use.  Check out the program as a podcast if you miss it tonight.

If you've missed seeing In the Family, you have two more chances around Chicago in the coming weeks.  Tonight it's showing at the University of Chicago's Doc Films, a screening highlighted in Time Out as a top five thing to do today. Then, it's showing in Evanston as a part of the Women's Resource Fair, March 20 - 21.  Get more information.

Read this article in The Chicago Sun-Times quoting Dr. Jack Kessler, the subject of Kartemquin's 2007 film Mapping Stem Cell Research:Terra Incognita, as he discusses Obama's plans for stem cell support.

Kartemquin is excited to announce the world premiere of their latest documentary, Typeface, at the upcoming International Film Festival - Breda, in Holland.   Director Justine Nagan will be in attendance.  The film will premiere at 8:15 at the Must See Cinema on the 26th, and then will screen again on Saturday the 28th at 3:00pm at the Graphic Design Museum.

Also, check out this recent article about Justine Nagan- her transition to Executive Director, her work on Typeface and her Minnesota roots.

Reel Chicago outlined Kartemquin's exciting new Diversity Fellowship in an interview with Justine Nagan about the upcoming year at Kartemquin. Kelley Moseley, Kartemquin's Fellowship Coordinator, is busy organizing applications from the 12 nominees now.  This summer our review panel will convene to review the proposals and select Kartemquin's inaugural fellow.  The fellow will start this September.  The organization is excited about this new endeavor and is grateful for project support from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and The Ford Foundation.

Kartemquin will have a heavy presence at this year's IFP Chicago Producer's Series coming up in April.  Leslie Simmer, Jerry Blumenthal and Gordon Quinn will participate in a panel about series producing, using The New Americans as a focal point.  Xan Aranda will speak with ITVS' Kathryn Washington about their collaboration on Milking the Rhino.  Lastly, Gordon Quinn will talk about his passion for fair use in a discussion about producer's rights.  Check it out.

Yesterday Gordon traveled to Columbus, Ohio to take part in Ohio State University’s Mashup/Remix Conference at the Moritz College of Law. Gordon participated on the opening panel “User-Generated Content and the Future of Cultural Production” as well as “Filmmakers on the Creative Process.” Watch Gordon on the opening panel.  Read coverage of the event in The Other Paper.

Saturday March 28th, Kartemquin's Gordon Quinn is joining Alex Kotlowitz to participate in the first-ever Third Coast Filmless Festival.  The TCFF culminates at 7:30 pm with a special program in honor of Chicago's favorite oral historian: Echoes of Studs: Extraordinary Stories of Everyday People.

Get tickets.

Two recent awards for Kartemquin docs:

Milking the Rhino was just awarded "Best Feature Documentary" at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.  Subsequently, it screened again yesterday afternoon.  At the Death House Door  won "Best Documentary" from the Faith&Film Critics Circle as one of the most significant explorations of spiritual themes from last year. Read more about it.

Kartemquin's Justine Nagan spoke to a group of attorneys today at the Chicago Bar Association about her experience working with Holland + Knight and how legal issues enter the documentary film-making process.  The group, the CBA's Young Lawyers' Section's Creative Arts Committee, had great questions about working with non-profit arts groups, fair use and music clearance.  Holland + Knight's Bob LaBate and Jenn Bjornberg represented the firm.

While Kartemquin's Joanna Rudnick is gearing up to teach a course next semester at Northwestern University, Peter Gilbert is a guest lecturer this week at the University of Florida Documentary Institute. Then on Friday, March 20th, At the Death House Door will screen at the University in Gannett Auditorium beginning at 5:30pm.  The screening is free and open to the public.

Following Kartemquin's Peter Gilbert's return from the Australian International Documentary Conference, read this great blog post about his career in the film industry- including his work on Hoop Dreams and At the Death House Door.

On March 24, In the Family screened to an audience of over 75 people at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md.  Filmmaker Joanna Rudnick was honored to speak on a panel with NIH experts following the film. The event was hosted by the National Human Genome Research Institute's Education and Community Involvement Branch and the National Cancer Institute's Office of Advocacy and Relations. In the Family will also screen in Heesch, Netherlands on April 18 as part of a national conference on breast and ovarian cancer. Find upcoming film screenings in your area on our events list or on the In the Family website.

Milking the Rhino continues to screen weekly in communities nation wide, all leading up to the broadcast premiere on PBS's Independent Lens, April 7 (and again in some markets on April 8th). Afterward, join Director David E. Simpson for a live blog/Q&A session on the Kartemquin website April 8th at 3pm CST.

Executive Director Justine Nagan and Artistic Director Gordon Quinn discuss the year ahead for Kartemquin on Friday morning, April 3rd on Eight Forty-Eight on Chicago Public Radio. If you are in the area tune in to WBEZ at 9am or again at 8pm. Not in the Chicago region? Listen online.

We excited to announce that Kartemquin's epic mini-series on immigration will be rebroadcast this summer on PBS's Global Voices. The series will air in hour-long segments over 7 consecutive Sundays, starting on June 14th.
If you live in the Chicago area, don't forget to about a addition screening of The New Americans at Facets Cinematheque this upcoming weekend, April 4th and 5th, including a filmmaker panel discussion. See our events list for more details.

Check out the 2009 Creative Chicago Expo on Saturday, April 4th, and stop by Kartemquin's booth to say Hi. The expo includes workshops, consultants and vendors all serving artists, art organizations and art businesses, and draws more that 3,500 participants. Held at the Chicago Cultural Center - get more info.

Kartemquin is excited to announce the launch of JJ's list, an on-line community resource for individuals with disabilities and their families.  JJ's list is the brainchild of Kartemquin Associate JJ Hanley.  JJ was the producer of Kartemquin's acclaimed film, Refrigerator Mothers.  Congratulations to JJ and thanks to Leslie Simmer for editing the short video you see on the site.  Check it out!