We are proud to announce that The Langum Charitable Trust has awarded The Interrupters with Malott Prize for Recording Community Activism for 2011-2012. The bi-annual Malott Prize is awarded to the best book, article, or film that depicts an individual or small group of people striving to make a significant improvement or prevent a significant harm in their local community. The Langum Charitable Trust determined to award this year's prize to both The Interrupters and author Jay Erskine Leutze for his book Stand Up that Mountain: The Battle to Save One Small Community in the Wilderness Along the Appalachian Trail.

We mourn the loss of a good friend and colleague, Mike Gray. He was an important filmmaker, author and leader in the documentary world. "I met Mike at the beginning of my career and we remained close for the next 50 years. His seminal film, The Murder of Fred Hampton, produced by The Film Group, remains as important today as it ever was," Kartemquin Founder and Artistic Director Gordon Quinn remarked, "Mike never lost his passion for the truth, politics, and making change. He will be missed." Mike Gray passed away yesterday in Los Angeles. Visit his website to learn more about his legacy, and Media Burn to watch full online versions of his films.

On March 17th, 2013, the filmmakers of '63 Boycott attended the workshop performance of an opera organized by the Civil Rights Opera titled "Shades of Mississippi", written and directed by Alan Marshall depicting the 1963 Chicago Public School boycott. The show at Christ the Mediator Church located in Chicago's South Side drew an audience of those who participated in the boycott of 1963, Chicago's largest civil rights demonstration.  The filmmakers connected with many of these participants, along with the brothers, sisters, friends and family of participants. One woman in particular stood out, though. Taking an interest in the '63 Boycott booth, this woman recognized herself in an image taken from the footage filmed at the 1963 boycott. 

Tickets are now on sale for the 2013 Kartemquin Spring Showcase!

Enjoy exclusive previews of never-before-seen footage from four of our upcoming documentaries, and give your feedback directly to the filmmakers in the theater and in a post-screening reception. Serving as both a window into our process and an opportunity to impact the future of these works-in-progress, this annual event embodies the Kartemquin spirit of collaborative creation and meaningful audience engagement. Get tickets.

The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded Living Revolution (formerly titled Encounters with the Other) a $75,000 production grant. Two-time Peabody award-winning director/producer Maria Finitzo (Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita) will use the funding to further explore the recent Bolivian “revolution” during the presidency of Evo Morales through the experiences of indigenous leaders, women’s rights activists, politicians, opposition intellectuals and the Tsimané, a group of Indigenous people who live in the lowlands of the Bolivian Amazon.

Two sold-out world premiere screenings of The Trials of Muhammad Ali had audiences discussing the film until the theaters kicked them out, and have also received rave reviews from the first critics to see it. You can catch it next at the Montclair Film Festival this Sunday, May 5th.

The Trials of Muhammad Ali Director Bill Siegel and Executive Producer Gordon Quinn appear today on Democracy Now! in a segment called, “The Trials of Muhammad Ali: Boxing Champ’s Refusal to Serve in Vietnam Was The Fight of His Life.” Director Bill Siegel talks about why he decided to make the film, and why “we never saw the best Ali in the ring.” “It’s a journey film that says as much about us as it does about him,” Bill tells Democracy Now! producers Juan Gonzalez and Amy Goodman.

The Chicago Community Trust and the Polk Bros. Foundation have awarded funding to Kirsten Kelly and Anne de Mare's The Homestretch. The funding will enable further production on the project, as well as resources for audience outreach and education. The Homestretch is the story of the almost 17,000 homeless students registered in the Chicago public school system. The Homestretch was awarded $25,000 from the Chicago Community Trust for production as a part of their commitment to end homelessness. Principal photography is due to wrap up with the end of the school year this June. We are also delighted that the Chicago Community Trust will show a special preview presentation of The Homestretch at their 98th Anniversary Gala on April 30th.

We're excited to announce that the Asian Giving Circle has awarded $8K to Unbroken Glass for post-production and outreach. AGC, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary of giving this year, funded projects dealing with mental health and disability issues in the Asian American community. Unbroken Glass is about director Dinesh Sabu's journey to find out more about his deceased parents and his family's silenced history of mental illness.