15 years later, Hoop Dreams is still a hit in Evanston... and Beijing!

An engaged and enthusiastic audience ventured out into the cold to watch Kartemquin's classic 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams in Evanston, IL yesterday. What was most notable about the crowd was the number of families with young children in attendance, clearly showing the continuing legacy of this great film. After the screening finished, the film's stars William Gates and Arthur Agee took part in a lengthy question and answer session, before autographing postcards and posters for the delighted fans, both old and new.

For photographs of this and other Hoop Dreams anniversary events, please visit our Facebook page.

Kartemquin would like to thank REELTIME for co-organizing the event, and our other outreach partners: All Our Sons Fund of the Evanston Community Foundation, and Black Men and Boys Initiative - Evanston.

The image also posted here is taken from Basketball Pioneers, a newspaper founded by Jordan Lee, who was inspired to become a writer after watching Hoop Dreams. He interviewed the film's director Steve James during Steve's recent trip to China for the IDOCS International Documentary Forum in Beijing, where Hoop Dreams and Stevie played for the first time to receptive Chinese audiences.

Mr. Lee stated that "at least half a million people" have read this article, "and from I have heard they loved it. I am sure that they are looking forward to watching the new Allen Iverson documentary, which I believe will be a great movie."

For more photos and interviews with Steve James from IDOCS, visit the offfical website.