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Be a part of Typeface! Send us your Typeface-inspired artwork. If we love it, we’ll put it on the Typeface DVD – and send you a free copy!  

Kartemquin Films invites designers, artists, filmmakers and typographers to submit artworks inspired by the award-winning documentary Typeface. As the film has traveled the world these past few months, many viewers have already created some amazing artwork related to the film. Now it’s our turn to celebrate you! We’ll be displaying the posters, videos and designs you’ve made on the Typeface website, and will have a selection of our favorites on the upcoming Typeface DVD (out on May 28^th – pre-order starting April 28).

Act fast! To be eligible for the DVD, we need to receive your art by Midnight, May 3^rd. After that date, we won’t be able to consider you for the DVD, but we’ll still display our favorite works on the Typeface website if you’d like to send them to us.  

Be inspired! We are open to works in any media as long as they echo the themes of the film and explore the convergence of contemporary design and traditional techniques. Maybe you’d like to design a new letterpress poster for an upcoming screening, make a mash-up of our trailer, or shoot a video that illustrates our tagline of “Great characters, both wooden and human.” Check out some previously submitted works on this page and in the Typeface store.

Typeface on DVD
A limited edition run of the Typeface DVD will be available exclusively on the Typeface website from May 28th in advance of a wide release later in 2010. The limited edition DVD features extra scenes and a letterpressed woodtype poster designed by Hamilton Wood Type Museum Artistic Director Bill Moran.

Join in!

1. Please complete the submission and materials release form.

2. Send your Typeface-inspired creation to info@kartemquin.com either as a link or an attachment. Photos should be high resolution (jpeg, tiff, bmp or gif of at least 400 dpi). Videos should be no longer than 5 minutes. After that, it’s up to you! We reserve the right to select which artworks are displayed here and on the Typeface DVD. If your entry is selected for the DVD, we’ll let you know after May 3rd.

Questions? Email info@kartemquin.com.

Producer/Director Usama Alshaibi and Co-Producer Rachel Pikelny have launched new fundraising initiatives for their project American Arab, the first film to be made as part of Kartemquin's Diversity Fellowship. The film now has a new donation page to complement a fundraising challenge on Indiegogo, and today Usama and Rachel created a Facebook Fan Page for the project. Production has already begun on the project; get involved now and help this important film reach completion!

Prisoner of Her Past producer and subject Howard Reich participated in a thought-provoking and insightful live chat today via the Chicago Tribune's TribNation. The engaging conversation broached subjects such as how Howard's relationship with his mother was affected by the film, why this story had to be told through a documentary, the music choices for the film, and the ethical issues Howard and Kartemquin had to grapple with in pursuing the story. The chat generated the following revelations from Howard:

"At practically every public appearance I make -- whether it's a book reading, lecture or film screening -- one or more people come up to me later and say: That's how my mother is acting. ... Or: My father used to be like that, but I didn't understand."

"Almost from the start, Kartemquin wanted the film to look, sound and feel different than other "Holocaust films." We felt this film is about here and now. Kartemquin also wanted the film to reflect my life."

"This has turned out to be the biggest story I've ever worked on in my life -- and the most important."

"One of the best aspects of this whole process -- including the week of screenings at the Siskel -- has been the way audiences have probed beneath the surface. I'm still learning."

Prisoner of Her Past is available on DVD now. The film has confirmed screenings in Silver Spring, MD in April and Evanston, IL in May. Other screenings will be announced in the near future.

The world television broadcast of Kartemquin's new film No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson on ESPN last night generated an amazing response on Twitter, delivering on director Steve James' desire that the film be a starting point for discussions about race, justice and equality. According to the social media platform, the phrase "Allen Iverson" was at times the #6 'trending topic' (i.e. most stated phrase) in the entire world (and even reached number #1 at the culmination of the broadcast according to the Brizzly platform, which combines Facebook and Twitter feeds). For a factual documentary, this is a remarkable response, and it was very exciting for '@Kartemquin' to be able to watch the conversations unfold in a live setting.

In No Crossover, director Steve James states "I would like my viewers to look at race and sports in a different way." Though the film clearly had a mass appeal, the twitter users who commented most about the 30 for 30 film were predominantly young African-American males, and the conversations that took place mostly showed a deep appreciation of the film's desire to open up a dialogue about the issues documented in the film. Viewers also frequently commented on their appreciation for learning about previously unknown aspects of basketball star Allen Iverson's life, and of the Hampton, Virginia setting in which both he and Steve James grew up.

For an archive of some of the tweets from last night and this morning, please check out our saved searches on Whatthehashtag?!, Twapperkeeper and Extraordinaries or search the phrase "Allen Iverson" on April 13th using Google's Twitter search. Here also are some of Kartemquin's favorite tweets from the night and this morning as the conversations continued:

xoundoff: @sportsguy33 no crossover is one of the most important films of our generation again thanks! Powerful

@davidtanklefsky: Steve James' 30 For 30 documentary "No Crossover" on Allen Iverson is terrific. Fascinating take on of race, community and sports.

@blinverted: ESPN's 30 for 30 series is amazing. The Allen Iverson story tonight by Steve James was very well done and worth watching.

@Marcissist: ESPN 30 for 30 on Iverson was great. Steve James' post- Hoop Dreams work is underappreciated.

@Ethhh: iverson is trending? doesnt surprise me since its a @kartemquin film

@AnthonyJPiluso: Allen Iverson #Espn 30 for 30 was outstanding, another brilliant documentary from ESPN and Steve James and @kartemquin

@Chozn1: I will never forgot Iverson saying "I went through it, cause God said Go Through It" #Powerful Statement

@DennisWimann @Kartemquin Amazing work. The best @30for30 yet. The U may have been funnier, but none made me think about race as much as No Crossover.

@wanny_yi: #nocrossover Just as absorbing and affecting as Hoop Dreams was. Along with Dave Halberstams article from 01, my fav piece...

@KevinShaw23 @Kartemquin's Steve James and "No Crossover...The Trial of Allen Iverson" makes you re-examine your beliefs on race & celebrity in America.

Thank you to everyone who watched the film and made it such a success.