Latest News

Read the latest surrounding the issue of Fair Use in documentary with Media Rights.

Kartemquin's Director of Communications Justine Nagan has a piece in the Hyde Park Art Center's new show, Constellation. There will be an opening reception Sunday the 22nd in the afternoon.

Ssssshhhh… you heard it here first. Kartemquin's latest documentary has a national TV broadcast scheduled for December 18th. Listen to this podcast to get the sneak peek before the press release goes out!

JJ Hanley, producer of Refrigerator Mothers, shared the stage with pioneer mothers who raised their autistic children during the era of “mother blame” of the 50s and 60s during the Autism Society of America’s (ASA) national conference in Phoenix, AZ this week. The conference ran from July 11th - 14th.

The leader of the panel, titled "Mothers from the Freudian/Psychoanalytic Era Respond to the Documentary Refrigerator Mothers", was Ruth Sullivan, first elected president of the ASA in the 1960s, founder of the Autism Services Center of West Virginia and a long-time advocate for the rights and advancement of autistic people. Eustacia Cutler, mother of Temple Grandin and author of AThorn in My Pocket, read excerpts from her account of her experience with the psychiatric profession while raising her daughter, who is a well-known autistic person and a very accomplished professional. Mary Flanagan, long-time advocate and crusader for the rights of autistic people in New York and one of the subjects of the documentary spoke of the damage that Freudian era did to families. The four mothers led the panel discussion, before a full house of parents and professionals.

Watch Free Speech TV on Thursday, August 16th for a 5 Girls marathon: 5 screenings of Kartemquin's 2001 documentary in 24 hours.

2:00 AM, 9:00AM, 2:00PM, 8:00PM, 10:00PM

Free Speech TV is available on DISH Network ch. 9415 and on select cable stations.

To celebrate the re-release of Kartemquin's Emmy-Award winning documentary, Vietnam, Long Time Coming on DVD, the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum and Kartemquin Films are hosting a reception at the Museum and an outdoor screening of the film in the beautiful, adjacent Clarke House Museum Park. Please bring a picnic blanket and join us for this free, summer event. Thanks to Goose Island for donating some cold 312 and Rootbeer, and to Wishbone for generously providing snacks.

Friday, July 13th

Reception begins at 7:30pm - sponsored by Wishbone Restaurant and Goose Island Brewery

Film screens around 8:30pm at dusk

1801 S. Indiana Ave, Chicago IL

Director Joanna Rudnick and Associate Producer Beth Iams recently traveled to Carbondale, IL to participate in the Illinois Humanities Council event, "What Would You Do? Genetic Testing and Life Decisions." Joanna was interviewed on WSIU-FM and profiled in The Southern newspaper.

Additionally, Joanna and In the Family were featured in the article "Documenting Risk" in  JUF News .

Last week, Kartemquin staff members Gordon Quinn and Joanna Rudnick represented Chicago's documentary community with a delegation of Iranian documentary filmmakers visiting as a part of the International Visitor Program. The meeting was organized by the International Visitors Center of Chicago.

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.

Last Friday, over 150 graphic design and film enthusiasts gathered in the gallery at The Center for Book and Paper Arts in Chicago to raise production funds for Kartemquin's work-in-progress. Guests enjoyed live blue-grass music, desserts from MJ Catering, wine from Toad Hollow Vineyards and a silent auction featuring nearly 60 works from artists across the country. A seven-minute trailer for the documentary screened, and over $8,000 was raised to support the film. Thanks to all of our supporters and sponsors, including those listed above as well as Steracle Press and Hall's Rental. Read more about it.

Filmmaker Joanna Rudnick and Associate Producer Beth Iams are preparing to travel to Carbondale, Illinois to participate in “What Would You Do? Genetic Testing and Life Decisions,” a program sponsored by the Illinois Humanities Council as part of their “Future Perfect: Conversations on the Meaning of the Genetics Revolution” Series. The program will be held on Thursday, June 28th at 7pm at the Kleinau Theatre at Southen Illinois University at Carbondale. The event is free and open to the public. More information is available here.

Kartemquin's Steve James recently worked with Leo Burnett and Nonfiction spots to create a short film for the Chicago Olympic Committee. "Stories" follows a group of young, Chicago athletes as they pursue the training necessary to pursue their 2016 Olympic dreams. Watch the video.

Read the coverage.

Watch an interview with Steve.

Join us tonight for a benefit for Kartemquin’s latest doc-in-progress, Typeface. Partygoers will enjoy a screening of a 7 minute trailer for the film, while drinking champagne, eating sweets, and deciding which of the over 50 works of donated art in the silent auction to bid on. Buy tickets now.

Kartemquin's Director of Development, Joanna Rudnick, recently participated in a Producer's Panel on film financing, hosted by the Midwest Independent Film Festival. The event, Tuesday night June 5th, preceded a screening of the film Death of A President and Kartemquin's trailer for Terra Incognita.

On May 18-19, Joanna and Beth attended the 2nd annual national “Joining FORCEs” conference, a two-day event bringing together 350 cancer survivors, high-risk individuals, health care providers, and advocates. The In the Family team filmed throughout the conference, met a number of new friends, and reconnected with women we have met throughout making the film. As part of the closing program, Joanna presented scenes from the film, receiving many encouraging comments. We are thrilled to have the feedback and support of the community.

Mark your calendars! You’re invited to a benefit for Typeface, Kartemquin’s work-in-progress on cultural preservation and graphic design history in the Midwest.

Please join us Friday, June 15th at 7pm for champagne, desserts and stunning original art in our silent auction–all to support production on Kartemquin’s latest project. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the door.

Buy tickets now.

Kartemquin’s Director of Communications, Justine Nagan, recently served as a jury-member for the Chicago 48-hour film project competition. 14 films were completed and screened by the judges- the highlights of which are being shown tonight at The StrawDog Theatre in Chicago. From there, top films will progress to national competition.

Terra Incognita: The Promise and Peril of Stem Cell Research, directed by Maria Finitzo, premieres tonight at Thorne Auditorium in Chicago. View details for the event here.

Thanks to The Center for Genetic Medicine at Northwestern University and The Silverstein Lecture Series for their support of these events, as well as to our stellar volunteer team (pictured).

In the Family Producer Joanna Rudnick and Associate producer Beth Iams attended the kick-off event for the Associate Board of the Chicago Center For Jewish Genetic Disorders last night. Joanna and Beth talked about the film and the potential for collaboration with the CCJGD in their efforts to educate high-risk young women about genetic testing for BRCA. Approximately 1 out of 40 individuals of Ashkenazi descent carry a BRCA mutation. More information about BRCA, and other genetic disorders prevalent in the Jewish community, can be found on the Center’s website.

Kartemquin is excited to invite you to a discussion with Howard Reich and John Callaway about Kartemquin’s documentary in progress, Prisoner of Her Past, Sunday, May 20th at 5:30pm in Steppenwolf’s Upstairs Theatre. The event will include footage from the film and a reception with refreshments. View the details on how to RSVP here (pdf).

Kartemquin’s latest doc, Terra Incognita, is currently featured in a story on Northwestern University’s website. Read it. The film premieres Thursday night at Thorne Auditorium in Chicago.

Typeface, a new Kartemquin documentary by Justine Nagan, received a $10,000 grant from the  Illinois Humanities Council for continued production on the film.

Listen to a podcast of the Cultural Commons and Fair Use panel that Kartemquin’s President Gordon Quinn, and Board Member Pat Aufderheide participated in at last week’s international conference at MIT.

Join us for a screening of Kartemquin’s labor documentary, UE/Wells this Saturday night at 7:00pm at the New World Resource Center in Chicago. Following the film, there will be a discussion with the filmmakers and several union organizers from the documentary. More information here (pdf).

Kartemquin is excited to announce details of the Chicago-area premiere of its latest documentary, Terra Incognita: The Promise and Peril of Stem Cell Research, directed by Maria Finitzo. Two local events are planned for May 10th at Thorne Auditorium in Chicago, and May 16th in Evanston. View details for the event here .

Thanks to The Center for Genetic Medicine at Northwestern University and The Silverstein Lecture Series for their support of these events.

Kartemquin’s President, Gordon Quinn, is speaking on a panel at this weekend’s international “MIT5: Creativity, Ownership and Collaboration in the Digital Age” conference in Boston. His panel will address issues of copyright, fair use and the cultural commons. Kartemquin Board Member Pat Aufderheide is also on the panel. View the full schedule here . The event is sponsored by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, MIT and The Center for Social Media.

Kartemquin’s Director of Communications Justine Nagan visited a documentary class at Columbia College yesterday and spoke with students about her experiences at Kartemquin and in the field of documentary. She gave feedback to the class about projects they were working on, and showed clips from her work-in-progress, Typeface.

This weekend, Kartemquin’s Gordon Quinn and Joanna Rudnick participated as mentors at the “Doing your Doc: Diverse Visions, Regional Voices” workshop sponsored by NALIP, LPB, the NEA, Columbia College and the IFP/Chicago. Gordon and Joanna met with emerging filmmakers to discuss their works-in-progress.

In the Family Director/Producer Joanna Rudnick is opening the 2007 Genetic Alliance Conference this July with a presentation about her experience living with a high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer and making a film about it. Read more about the conference and Joanna’s talk here .

Watch WTTW’s Chicago Tonight at 7pm this evening to see a discussion with Kartemquin President Gordon Quinn and Board Member Peter Gilbert about Kartemquin’s current works-in-progress and their recent MacArthur Award.

Then, tune-in to Chicago Tonight again tomorrow at 7pm for a discussion about Autism awareness featuring selects from Kartemquin’s Refrigerator Mothers. Finally, on Friday night at 9:30pm, WTTW is re-broadcasting the award-winning film on Autism and its effect on families itself.