Hoop Dreams

Read a recent review of Kartemquin’s classic Hoop Dreams in the latest edition of the Mental Floss blog. The film’s new digital availability is sparking renewed interest in the award-winning documentary.

A screening of Kartemquin’s classic Hoop Dreams is launching Doc New Zealand’s new “Doc Focus” community screening initiative on Tuesday night, July 29. Get the details

Entertainment Weekly recently named Kartemquin’s Hoop Dreams as one of the top 100 “New Classic Movies.” The film was one of only two docs included on the list. The film was ranked #26– see what else is on the list.

Kartemquin recently donated 200 copies of Hoop Dreams to the Chicago Public Schools district. The CPS Offices of Arts Education and Sports Administration are collaborating to distribute the film to schools around Chicago.

Kartemquin's Steve James was quoted in an article today in the Philanthrophy News Digest about the ever-changing documentary funding landscape. Kartemquin has strived to build strong relationships with foundations over time to help support documentary work, particularly since the break-out success of our film Hoop Dreams.

Hoop Dreams tied with Hoosiers for #1 placement on a recent MSN list of the top Basketball films of all time. Check out the list.

Kartemquin's Hoop Dreams was recently listed on The Center for American Progress' list of the "Top 25 Progressive Films" of all time on their website as a part of their Reel Progress initiative. They are currently polling for the most progressive film on the list. Vote now!

Kartemquin's 1994 hit, Hoop Dreams, will screen this afternoon at the Westport Massachusetts Public Library, next Wednesday at the Wakefield Branch of the New York Public Library and then again in March in Essex, Connecticut as a part of a community series of important documentaries at the Essex Library. Get more information.

Kartemquin's Hoop Dreams was recently mentioned on the Oxford University Press Blog on a list of favorite documentaries. Check it out.

Chicago's ABC affiliate, ABC7, recently featured Kartemquin's Steve James during their "People, Places, & Things" program. This weekend's show sought to bring audiences an update on Kartemquin's doc Hoop Dreams– by interviewing William Gates, Arthur Agee and Steve James. The program aired Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Kartemquin is thrilled to announce that its 1994 Academy-Award nominated film, Hoop Dreams, received the top ranking in a list released today by the International Documentary Association (IDA). Director Steve James responded to the honor, ""I am totally humbled by this distinction. There areso many great documentaries on the list and not on the list that could have easily been given this honor. I think Hoop Dreams' staying power is due to the courage and honesty of the Gates and Agee families who let us so completely into their lives. And to what one reviewer wrote about all the dramatic twists and turns in their story: 'Hoop Dreams' script was by God.'"

The film, made by Steve James, Peter Gilbert and Frederick Marx, was named "best documentary" in the list of 25 top documentaries created to celebrate the IDA's 25th anniversary. Sandra Ruch, Executive Director of the IDA, described Hoop Dreams' appeal in an article in Indie Wire: "People have always responded strongly to 'Hoop Dreams', maybe as it's such an American story, about a beloved indigenous sport and issues we have always grappled with in this country - race and class. It brought us a real story of the indomitable human spirit, rather than the cliches of the 'Rocky''s and 'Chariots of Fire' of the era." The top 25 documentaries on the list will be featured in the upcoming Oct/Nov edition of the IDA magazine.

Read the rest of the list.

Kartemquin's classic, Hoop Dreams, was recently featured in an article in the Charlotte Observer as a great summer film for kids.

If it is, vote for it as AFI compiles a list of America's favorite movies.

Kartemquin's Steve James has been invited to join The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This September Steve, and the 114 other 2007 inductees, will be welcomed in at an invitation-only ceremony in Los Angeles.

On February 27th, Gordon Quinn and Peter Gilbert represented Kartemquin at the 10th Anniversary Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund event at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington DC. The fund has been providing opportunities for inner-city DC public school children since 1996.

Peter Gilbert reflected on the event: “For Gordon and I, it was an exciting evening. Hoop Dreams was a work of passion for all of us at Kartemquin. Seeing the film used as the inspiration for such a wonderful and important organization 10 years after the release of the film was heartwarming. We all make social issue films with the hope that they will make some small impact in the community. Being at The Hoop Dreams Scholarship Foundation anniversary gave us great joy in knowing that we played just a small part in a wonderful organization that carries the film’s name.”

Susie Kay, the fund’s founder, found inspiration in Kartemquin’s documentary Hoop Dreams while teaching American Government at H.D. Woodson High School. She wanted to reward students who were working hard despite immense adversity and help them find means to attend college. Over the last 10 years, Susie and her Board have funded over 1,400 academic scholarships and sent 800 Washington DC Public School children to college. Each student is matched with a mentor in the business world who helps guide him or her through college and life.

Read The Examiner’s coverage of the event here (pdf).

Kartemquin’s 1994 documentary, Hoop Dreams, is featured this month as a “staff pick” in the MediaRights on-line store. Browse this list of doc all-stars for holiday gift ideas. MediaRights is a non-profit, community organization created to help extend the reach of social-issue documentaries.

Check out Gordon Quinn’s quote about John Iltis and his great work on Hoop Dreams in this week’s Chicago Reader.

Stevie will begin its premiere theatrical run in Japan at the “Pole-Pole Higashinakano” Theater in Tokyo, on Saturday, February 18th, 2006. Director/Producer Steve James and Producer Adam Singer will have a Q&A session following the 10:45AM, 1:40PM, 4:35PM and the 7:30PM screenings on Feb. 18th. They will also be there to answer questions after the 10:45AM and 1:40pm showings on Feb. 19th. Additionally, Hoop Dreams will show all night at the same theatre on February 18th. Stevie will run at the Pole-Pole through Friday, March 17, 2006.

Daily Screening schedule:
10:45AM/ 1:40PM/ 4:35PM/ 7:30PM

Pole-Pole Higashinakano Theater
Nakako-ku, Higashinakano 4-4-1
The building name is Pole Pole Za building BF1
Tel:03-3371-0088
The train line is JR-Sobu line, JR-Higashinakano station.

Japanese websites:
moviola.jp/stevie
 mmjp.or.jp/pole2

On December 20th, the Library of Congress announced that Kartemquin Films’ 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams was chosen as a part of the 2005 annual selection of 25 films to be added to the National Film Registry. This year’s collection includes Miracle on 34th Street, 1906 San Francisco earthquake footage and The Sting. The registry was created in 1989 and contains 400 films, in addition to the latest selections.

Hoop Dreams Executive Producer Gordon Quinn remarked, “The National Film Registry selection of Hoop Dreams is a great honor for Kartemquin. The film remains a highlight of our 40 years of filmmaking, and we’re very proud that the film was nominated by the public, and chosen by the Library of Congress, to be preserved as a cultural marker of our times.”

The 25 films were culled from a group of over 1,000 titles submitted by viewers to the Library of Congress for final selection. With the National Film Preservation Act, the Librarian of Congress annually selects 25 motion pictures which are considered “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant and represent the diversity and depth of America’s film history.

The Film Registry honor follows on the heels of the Hoop Dreams Criterion Collection DVD release last year. For more infomation on the National Film Preservation Board, please visit their website.

The New Americans, a PBS miniseries premiering March 2004 from award-winning Kartemquin Films and ITVS, follows four years in the lives of a diverse group of contemporary immigrants and refugees as they journey to start new lives in America. The detailed portraits – woven together in the seven-hour miniseries – present a kaleidoscopic picture of immigrant life and a personal view of the new America. We follow an Indian couple to Silicon Valley through the dot.com boom and bust; a Mexican meatpacker who struggles to reunite his family in rural Kansas; two families of Nigerian refugees escaping persecution, including the sister of slain activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa; two Los Angeles Dodgers prospects with big dreams of escaping the barrios of the Dominican Republic; and a Palestinian woman who marries into a new life in Chicago only to discover in the wake of September 11, she can not leave behind the pain of her homeland. Kartemquin has assembled a team of talented directors including the producers and director of Hoop Dreams, Who Killed Vincent Chin, and Vietnam, Long Time Coming. They tell startlingly intimate stories of the day-to-day travails and triumphs of these newcomers, from before they leave their homelands through their first tumultuous years in America.

Visit the The New Americans website.

To purchase The New Americans series on home video, visit Home Vision Entertainment online, or call 888-572-8918.

For workplaces, schools and community organizations that would like to use shorter stories from The New Americans to increase understanding of recent immigrants, Active Voice and Kartemquin Films offer three brief, themed video modules for a nominal fee. Each module includes a DVD or VHS cassette with two or three family stories that are each twenty minutes in length, plus a companion print guide that includes:

• Discussion questions and reaction quotes from users to start dialogues
• Workshop curriculum to keep discussion focused and productive
• Immigration statistics to provide national and local context
• Resource lists for further insight and partnership

For more information visit Active Voice.

To order The New Americans companion book published by The New Press, call 800-233-4830.

The New Americans soundtrack by Norman Arnold is also available for purchase: visit CD Baby.

The New Americans Series Guide and Activity Book is now downloadable for free. The guide contains thoughtful classroom and community activities prompted by scenes and quotes from the film, including ESL and professional development activities for educators and health care providers. Find out more at ITVS.

The New Americans website offers an online educational adventure for 7th-12th grade students. The site supplements the upcoming documentary mini-series, which explores the immigrant experience through the personal stories of immigrants to the United States. Visit here.

Learn more about the exciting national outreach and educational campaign and sign up for the monthly e-newsletter here.