Stevie

An engaged and enthusiastic audience ventured out into the cold to watch Kartemquin's classic 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams in Evanston, IL yesterday. What was most notable about the crowd was the number of families with young children in attendance, clearly showing the continuing legacy of this great film. After the screening finished, the film's stars William Gates and Arthur Agee took part in a lengthy question and answer session, before autographing postcards and posters for the delighted fans, both old and new.

For photographs of this and other Hoop Dreams anniversary events, please visit our Facebook page.

Kartemquin would like to thank REELTIME for co-organizing the event, and our other outreach partners: All Our Sons Fund of the Evanston Community Foundation, and Black Men and Boys Initiative - Evanston.

The image also posted here is taken from Basketball Pioneers, a newspaper founded by Jordan Lee, who was inspired to become a writer after watching Hoop Dreams. He interviewed the film's director Steve James during Steve's recent trip to China for the IDOCS International Documentary Forum in Beijing, where Hoop Dreams and Stevie played for the first time to receptive Chinese audiences.

Mr. Lee stated that "at least half a million people" have read this article, "and from I have heard they loved it. I am sure that they are looking forward to watching the new Allen Iverson documentary, which I believe will be a great movie."

For more photos and interviews with Steve James from IDOCS, visit the offfical website.

As the 'noughties' draw to a close, many critics have been publishing their lists of the decade's best films. Kartemquin is honored that our 2003 film Stevie is represented in a few of these lists, capping an incredible decade of growth and achievement for our organization.

Stevie is increasingly being recognized as a modern documentary masterpiece, gaining acclaim as one of the top 25 essential documentaries of the decade in a list by popular online critic Marilyn Ferdinand. NewCity Film critic Ray Pride went even further, listing Stevie at #19 in his ranking of the decade's best films in any genre. Only one other documentary placed higher. Stevie also gained a #5 place on Filmsweep's list of the decade's best documentaries, was #1 on Collin Souter's list on eFilmCritic, and was the highest-placed documentary on this top 50. The Onion AV Club's Keith Phipps also placed the film at #57 on his top 100, and Sunday Morning Reviews ranked it at #19, calling Steve James "the best documentarian working today… to make Stevie and Hoop Dreams in one lifetime is an amazing feat."

Our 2004 series The New Americans was also heralded as "the greatest accomplishment of any documentary this decade" while placing at #2 on a list of the top 10 Chicago movies of the past decade by Chicago Beat.

During the past decade, Kartemquin Films has released ten documentaries and received numerous awards and accolades, including a MacArthur 'Genius' Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, a Peabody Award (for Terra Incognita: Mapping Stem Cell Research), an Emmy-nomination (for In the Family), a Gold Hugo (for The New Americans), and several other awards from film festivals across the world including Sundance, IDFA, Atlanta, Chicago, Full Frame, Florida and many more. Two Kartemquin films have also been short-listed for the Academy award for Best Documentary (Stevie and At the Death House Door).

As we enter into our 44th year, with three new films - Typeface, No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson, and Prisoner of her Past - screening across the world in 2010, and a number of our classic films due to be released on DVD, we look forward another decade of successful cinematic social enquiry. Happy new year!

Chinese papers are building up anticipation for the inaugural Beijing IDOCS International Documentary Forum, opening this weekend at the Beijing Film Academy. At the unprecedented event, which China's Global Times called "a week of pure delight" for documentary buffs, acclaimed director Steve James will present the Chinese premieres of the classic Kartemquin documentaries Hoop Dreams and Stevie as an unmissable double-bill on Sunday December 13th. Steve James will also present a masterclass on the production of Stevie on December 14th and participate in a number of panels.

Visit the official website for information and tickets.

Acclaimed Kartemquin filmmaker Steve James will attend the Chinese premieres of his award-winning documentaries Hoop Dreams and Stevie this December in Beijing. The screenings are a part of the IDOCS International Documentary Forum, a week-long celebration of documentary film taking place at the nation's top cinema school, the Beijing Film Academy, from December 12-17. 

The unmissable double-bill of the acknowledged classics Hoop Dreams and Stevie occurs on December 13th. Despite garenering numerous awards and praise over the years, neither film has ever played inside the world's most populous nation until now. Steve James will participate in Q+A's after both screenings.

Steve will also take part in several panels discussing his own career and the current state of documentary film throughout the week (see our events page for full listings). A highlight of the week will be an exclusive, in-depth 'master class' on the production of Stevie on December 14th, in which Steve James will discuss the film with director Peter Wintonick (Manufacturing Consent).

For more information, please visit the official website.

Kartemquin's Steve James will curate a series of sports films for Full Frame's 2009 thematic program, "This Sporting Life" . In recent years, Full Frame has screened James’ Stevie, Reel Paradise, and At the Death House Door, which received the Inspiration Award at the festival last year.

James describes his involvement, “When Full Frame approached me about curating a series of sports films, it took me two seconds to say yes. Maybe it has something to do with a lifelong fascination with sports and film. And I’ve been a fan of how Full Frame selects a topic each year to do a series of films around. It challenges the viewer to engage with documentaries both thematically and historically, something that doesn’t happen enough in the festival world.”

Get more information.

Mark your calendars now! Three Kartemquin films (Milking the Rhino, Stevie and In the Family) are being featured in an upcoming series of ten films honoring the centennial of the University of Chicago's school of social service.

From their website: Born from the ideals for change of the Progressive Era, the School of Social Service Administration has been an advocate and resource for the disadvantaged in Chicago for 100 years. SSA has a history of impact on the issues that are central to the lives of the city’s citizens, families, and neighborhoods: Poverty. Education. Family support. Mental illness. Crime. Urban development. Health care. Housing. Substance abuse. Child welfare. Employment. That legacy continues today.

In light of this storied legacy, Doc and the SSA (with special thanks to Kartemquin Films, three of whose titles we’re showing in the series) present ten films that relate to a broad range of social service issues.

Read more about the series and get details on their website.

Check out this article from Mediarights.org talking with Gordon about some of his favorite docs.

Kartemquin's Stevie screened to an enthusiastic crowd of over 150 people yesterday at the Lake Theatre in Oak Park, IL as part of a two-year mental health initiative going on in the community. A lively discussion followed the screening.

Kartemquin's 2003 documentary, Stevie, will be the focus of a free public screening at Oak Park’s Lake Theater on Saturday, March 15, at 9:00am. Director and Oak Park resident, Steve James, will be in attendance to answer questions following the film.

This screening is being coordinated and sponsored by Family Service & Mental Health Center of Oak Park & River Forest, NAMI Metro Suburban (National Alliance on Mental Illness), The Community Mental Health Board, Town of Oak Park, and The River Forest Mental Health Committee.

Join us for a free screening of Kartemquin's award-winning documentary, Stevie, on Thursday, November 1st as a part of the Human Rights Film Series at the University of Chicago. Filmmaker Steve James will be there in person for a Q & A after the screening.

Film Studies Center

5811 S Ellis Ave Cobb Hall 306

7:00 pm

Kartemquin's film Stevie was recently featured in a Media Rights' feature on filmmaker Jennifer Fox's filmmaking influences. Read the article.

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 November 4th, Stevie screened to members of the American Society of Criminology as a part of their annual meeting weekend. According to conference organizers, the film was extremely well received. For more information about the ASC, click here.

In late October, Stevie screened to an audience of over 200 people in Nagano. A week of screenings in Hiroshima begins today, then the film heads to Saitama. Support of the film in Japan has been great – special thanks to Momo for all her hard work getting Stevie to audiences that appreciate it!

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