Great news for The Homestretch: the film was selected to take part in the Sundance Institute's 2013 Documentary Edit and Story Labs, and is a finalist for funding from the San Francisco Film Society 2013 Documentary Fund! The Sundance Institute's Documentary Edit and Story Labs brings together just 9 director and editor teams with world-renowned documentary filmmakers and Sundance Institute staff to support creative risk-taking around issues of story, dramatic structure and character development. From Friday, July 5 - Saturday, July 13 The Homestretch director/producers Kirsten Kelly and Anne de Mare will attend with editor Leslie Simmer. Continued

This Sunday, May 19, a lucky few Kartemquin fans will be in the audience giving their feedback on 4 of our new documentaries at the 2013 Kartemquin Spring Showcase. We are delighted to announce that this event is already sold out! The Chicago Sun-Times spoke to the filmmakers ahead of the event, noting that gathering "audience input" has always been a tenet of our production model. This year's showcase will feature premieres of footage from Cooked, Continued

Ahead of the 2013 Kartemquin Spring Showcase, the directors and producers involved have all recorded videos that offer a little preview discussion of the exclusive, world premiere sneak peeks they will be showing this Sunday, May 19, 5pm at Gene Siskel Film Center (get tickets). The event will offer the audience a forum for intimate discussion of the following works-in-progress: Cooked, The Homestretch, Mormon Movie, and American Arab. Continued

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. Continued

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. Continued

Kirsten Kelly and Anne de Mare, producers of The Homestretch, are in Park City this week, attending the 2013 Sundance Film Festival as Sundance Documentary Fellows. One of just twelve work-in-progress docs featured in the program, they'll be pitching the film to a variety of industry figures in the hope of raising additional funds to keep the edit going this Spring. The film, a co-production with Spargel productions, explores urban homelessness amongst adolescents enrolled in the Chicago Public Schools, and is being cut by Kartemquin's Leslie Simmer (As Goes Janesville). Continued

We are delighted to learn that the Pierce Family Foundation has pledged a year-end gift of $5,000 to apply towards the costs of The Homestretch. We are honored and very thankful for their support of this important documentary. To be homeless and in high school is a challenge that no young person should have to face. Yet each year, over 1.6 million young people find themselves homeless, many without parental support. In Chicago, there are almost 17,000 homeless students registered in the public school system. The majority of them are adolescents fighting to make it through the final years of high school. The Homestretch is their story. A co-production of Kartemquin Films and Spargel Productions, The Homestretch is currently in production and due for release in 2014. Continued

The first Chicago International Social Change Film Festival takes place this weekend, and Kartemquin will have a big presence at the event as we offer sneak previews of three exciting projects: Unbroken Glass, The Homestretch and Interrupt Violence. Kartemquin fans can get a discount of 35% off any festival event by using code "KTQ35" when ordering tickets. Continued

In The Homestretch directors Anne de Mare and Kirsten Kelly explore urban homelessness amongst adolescents enrolled in the Chicago Public Schools. An estimated 15,000+ CPS students are homeless, with an estimated 1.6 million children nationwide "with no home and very limited adult support." The in-progress film is part of the opening night presentation of the Chicago International Social Change Film Festival on October 5th, 6:15pm at the Showplace Icon theater. The first ever public preview of The Homestretch will be followed by a Q & A with the filmmakers and Beth Cuningham of Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (Get tickets). Continued

The MacArthur Foundation has awarded $200,000 to Kartemquin's new production The Homestretch. The documentary, which follows homeless students within the Chicago Public School system, is being produced & directed by Kirsten Kelly and Anne de Mare and is a co-production with their Spargel Productions. The film was selected as one of only 13 films awarded a total of $1.6million of funding from over 300 proposals MacArthur received, and is due for completion in 2014. You can donate to the film, which still needs funding for post-production.   Continued