Latest News

Kartemquin's Maria Finitzo, Gordon Quinn and Justine Nagan just returned from IDFA, the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam, where the 60 minute version of Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita was in the Silver Wolf Competition. The film was screened 5 times followed by discussions with the filmmakers and audiences. Allison Kessler, one of the individuals featured in the film, attended the festival for the European premiere of the film.

Additionally, Gordon was one of five documentarians to participate in a panel entitled, "Debate: What Would You Do? Ethics inside and outside film" The panel was moderated by documentary ethicist Brian Winston, and covered social taboos and ethical issues posed in the documentary film process.

Kartemquin was recently cited in a blog about the writers' strike, check it out.

Kartemquin's JJ Hanley will give a presentation on her experience with fair use and licensing during the making of Refrigerator Mothers, and will share other Kartemquin fair use experiences, on December 3rd, in St. Louis at an event sponsored by the St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. Get the details.

Filmmaker Gordon Quinn led an emotional discussion yesterday afternoon, following a screening of Kartemquin's Emmy-Award winning film, Vietnam: Long Time Coming at the Oak Park Public Library. The Library screened the film as a part of its day-long Veterans Day program.

Kartemquin was thrilled to premiere the new restored 16mm print of its founding film, Home for Life, at a sold-out screening Saturday night at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. At a pre-screening reception, friends of Kartemquin mingled with experts in the field of aging, documentary enthusiasts and several individuals who worked at the Drexel Home, both during filmmaking and in the years afterwards. The film was introduced by Richard Christiansen, and the packed house enjoyed a lively, and long, discussion about the documentary following the screening.

Kartemquin filmmakers Maria Finitzo and Justine Nagan were in Milwaukee last night for a screening of Terra Incognita, hosted by the DocUWM program and ITVS' Community Cinema Program. The auditorium was near capacity for the screening and the enthusiastic discussion afterwards. Special thanks to Brad, the DocUWM crew and Alterra Coffee for their hospitality.

Kartemquin's recent Golub/Spero DVD release was featured on the Provisions Library "blog for the arts of social change." Check it out.

Kartemquin's Justine Nagan participated on a panel of film professionals at Columbia College's "Reel Exchange: Directing" session yesterday afternoon. Columbia describe's their RE program as: "Film professionals will join directing students in a discussion about assembling clips for presentation on a reel. This session is an excellent opportunity for students and alumni to ask questions pertaining to assembling their body of work or simply attend and absorb the knowledge."

Approximately 50 students attended the afternoon session.

Long time Kartemquin Associate, Peter Kuttner, is featured in a photo in today's Chicago Sun Times in an article about CSI episodes currently shooting in town. Peter is sporting a Kartemquin hat and is hard at work on set. Buy your hat in time for winter in our store!

Kartemquin's stem cell doc, Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita, won an "Award of Excellence" Accolade in the feature independent documentary category of this year's awards. The Accolades are a national competition "honoring outstanding craft and creativity in film, video, television and commercials." Clips of the winning works can be viewed here.

Join the members of Beth Emet The Free Synagogue in Evanston, IL, this Sunday at 10am for a screening of Kartemquin's Terra Incognita, followed by a discussion with Dr. Jack Kessler and Dr. Lori Zoloth from the film.

The screening is free and open to the public.

Beth Emet The Free Synagogue

1224 Dempster Evanston IL

A reminder that Kartemquin's Gordon Quinn will be opening the first annual Geneva Film Festival in Geneva, IL with a screening of Vietnam, Long Time Coming and a master class this Saturday October 27th. Get more information.

The event is a weekend pick from the Daily Herald.

Kartemquin Filmmaker, David E. Simpson, participated in the ITVS session during day 3 of the IFP Chicago Midwest Filmmaker Summit on Sunday. Simpson sat with Naomi Walker from ITVS and discussed his related experiences on his past film Refrigerator Mothers, and with his current ITVS funded doc-in-progress, Milking the Rhino. Naomi Walker is also presenting Kartemquin's Terra Incognita as a part of the Independent Lens' Community Cinema program in Chicago on December 15th.

Kartemquin is excited to announce that the Illinois Arts Council has awarded Typeface with a $10,200 grant for continued production. We are so grateful.

Justine Nagan will represent Kartemquin at this year's NAMAC conference in Austin, TX this week. The bi-annual conference brings together film, video and multimedia arts organizations for several days of panels, discussions and meetings on current events and trends in the industry. Justine also represented Kartemquin this past Monday at a small gathering of Chicago women for a discussion on documentary and activism sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media.

At an awards ceremony in Chicago on Sunday, Kartemquin's stem cell doc, Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita, was awarded a Gold Hugo called "The Chicago Award" by the Chicago International Film Festival. Festival Competitions Coordinator Phil Bajorat explained the accolade, "As part of the Chicago International Film Festival’s special section focusing on local filmmakers, the Chicago Award is presented to a Chicago or Illinois artist for the best feature film, short film, or documentary. The Chicago Award applauds and celebrates the tireless efforts of regional talents who are devotees to the art of cinema and for their contributions to the medium." Director Maria Finitzo was at the ceremony to accept the award.

The Chicago Award Jury included: Mike McNamara (Executive Director of Midwest Independent Film Festival, Chicago); Malik Bader (filmmaker; last year's Chicago Award winner for Street Thief); and Annie Porter (Associate Producer for At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper, Chicago).

The film screens tonight at AMC River East. Get tickets.

Also, Northwestern University's news team recently did a piece on the film, and Dr. Kessler, that is posted on You Tube. Watch the news story.

Kartemquin's Jerry Blumenthal's letter to the editor at The Nation Magazine this past February was quoted, along with several references to Kartemquin's documentary, Golub: Late Works are the Catastrophes, in a recent article in Monthly Review magazine.

Last night's report on ABC's Nightline, which followed multiple generations of the Davis family dealing with the BRCA mutation, featured a scene from In the Family. Last summer, Joanna filmed with two of the members of the Davis family, Jeff and Richard, for her documentary. Watch the full report.

Kartemquin's Director of Development, Joanna Rudnick, is speaking today with John Bracken from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation at an event held by Grantmakers In Health called "The Art & Science of Health Grantmaking." Joanna will be presenting at a session entitled "Funding Media as a Grantmaking Strategy."

Kartemquin's stem cell doc, Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita, is going to screen in New Orleans on Sunday night, November 4th at 6:30pm as a part of Independent Lens' Community Cinema program. Get more information.

New Orleans

November 4, 2007, Sunday, 6:30 PM

Ashé Cultural Arts Center

1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

New Orleans, LA

Free Admission

Kartemquin is excited to announce that Golub: Late Works Are the Catastrophes is screening as a part of the 2007 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival on October 24th and 26th. Filmmaker Jerry Blumenthal will be in attendance at the screening on the 26th. Get more information.

The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center is showing Kartemquin's 2004 documentary, Golub: Late Works Art the Catastrophes, on Saturday October 27th as a part of their fall film series. Admission is free for museum members, and $5 for the public. Get more information.

Learn more about the status of Kartemquin's work-in-progress, Milking the Rhino, by visiting their blog and myspace page.

Please join us in Milwaukee for a free screening of our stem cell doc, Terra Incognita, on November 7. Director/Producer Maria Finitzo and Associate Producer Justine Nagan will attend the event. Get more information.

Tickets are now on sale for the premiere screening of the new restored film print of Kartemquin's first film, Home for Life, on November 10th at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago.

Buy your tickets.

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 Associate Dana Kupper is participating in this year's IFP/Chicago's Midwest Filmmakers Summit, October 19-21 at Columbia College. Get your tickets now.

Kartemquin Films' Gordon Quinn has agreed to help kick-off the first annual Geneva Illinois Film Festival by conducting a master class, following a public screening of the Emmy-Award winning film, Vietnam: Long Time Coming, on Saturday October 27. The film begins at 1pm with other events to follow. Get more information.

Kartemquin's 1975 documentary, Trick Bag, will be screened on October 19th as a part of The Chicago Reporter's John A. McDermott Short Film Festival program. The festival is in honor of the Reporter's 35th anniversary and will include, in addition to Trick Bag, excerpts from 3 films with connections to Kartemquin associates: David E. Simpson (Halsted St. USA), Judy Hoffman (Voices from Cabrini) and long-time Kartemquin friend Mike Gray (American Revolution 2). The festival will also screen the winner of the McDermott short film competition (Kartemquin's Justine Nagan served on the jury) and a presentation on independent media and social change by the Reporter's Publisher.

Join us for this incredible event:

October 19th, 5:30pm - 8:30pm

Chicago Cultural Center

Buy tickets now.

Read an article that the blog "Raging Artists" posted recently about the title sequence and animations in Kartemquin's latest, Terra Incognita.