May 2009

In honor of Memorial Day, SnagFilms included Vietnam, Long Time Coming in its special line-up of films "that enable us all to honor the fallen, and to reflect on our own duties of remembrance and action." SnagFilms hosts a website where you can watch full-length documentary films for free, and is also a platform that lets you “snag” a film and put it anywhere on the web. Vietnam was recently snagged and reviewed by Cinematical.

Starting in five nations, covering four years, with one destination: the modern US immigrant experience is captured in Kartemquin's seminal series, The New Americans. Soon to be rebroadcast on PBS's Global Voices series-Sundays, starting July 5th-don't miss it!

A week ago the 2nd Annual Chicago Youth Community Film Festival, "A Reel Look at their Neighborhoods", was held at the Chicago Cultural Center. The event showcased 22 short films produced by Chicago area students who had dropped out of high school and re-enrolled into small, community-based high schools. The films were developed in classes taught by Community TV Network instructors, and sponsored by the Alternative Schools Network. Kartemquin's Jerry Blumenthal served as a judge in the competition.

Kartemquin's Maria Finitzo and Justine Nagan returned Tuesday from New York where they accepted a George Foster Peabody Award for Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita.  The awards were presented at a luncheon hosted by Brian Williams at the Waldorf-Astoria Monday afternoon.  Kartemquin shared the Peabody with Independent Lens, who broadcast the film on PBS in January of 2008.  Independent Lens also won a Peabody for King Corn.  Pictured with Maria and Justine are the filmmakers from King Corn and Lois Vossen from Independent Lens.