- Directed and photographed by
- Steve James
- Produced by
- Alex Kotlowitz
- Steve James
- Co-Producer & Sound Recordist
- Zak Piper
- Edited by
- Aaron Wickenden
- Steve James
- Original Music Composed by
- Joshua Abrams
- Music Supervisor
- Linda Cohen
- Executive Producers
- Justine Nagan
- Gordon Quinn
- Teddy Leifer
- Paul Taylor
- Executive Producer for ITVS
- Sally Jo Fifer
- Vice President of Programming for ITVS
- Claire Aguilar
- Executive Producer For Frontline
- David Fanning
- Frontline Executive Producer for Special Projects
- Mike Sullivan
- Inspired by a New York Times Magazine article by
- Alex Kotlowitz
- Post-Production Supervisor
- Aaron Wickenden
- Assistant Editor
- Nora Gully
- Researcher
- Emily Hart
- Additional camera
- Dana Kupper
- Adam Singer
- Keith Walker
- Zak Piper
- Mirko Popadic
- Damon Hennessey
- Jackson James
- Additional Sound Recording
- John Mathie
- Rich Pooler
- Pat Tillman
- Alex Kotlowitz
- Technical Supervisor
- Jim Morrissette
- Technical Consultant
- Liz Kaar
- Transcription
- Dylan James
- Joe Riina-Ferrie
- Aaron McGrath
- Lesley Onstott
- Brittany Piper
- Robby Sexton
- Jennifer Wells
- Translation
- Shelly Hubman
- Ian Kibbe
- Lauren Makholm
- Musicians
- Joshua Abrams- Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass, Percussion, Drums, MPC, Piano, Wurlitzer, MS20
- Jason Adasiewicz- Marimba, Vibes
- David Boykin- Bass Clarinet
- Nicole Mitchell- Flute, Alto Flute, Bass Flute
- Jeff Parker- Guitar
- Tomeka Reid- Cello
- Original music recorded by
- Joshua Abrams
- Neil Strauch
- Original music mixed by
- Neil Strauch
- High Definition Finish
- Nolo Digital Film
- Digital Colorist
- Michael Matusek
- Engineer at Nolo Digital Film
- Boris Seagraves
- Producer at Nolo Digital Film
- Joe Flanagan
- Online Edit
- Boris Seagraves
- Elliot Rudmann
- Assistant at Nolo Digital
- Elliot Rudmann
- Audio Post-Production
- Vagabond Audio
- Re-Recording Mixer
- Drew Weir
- Audio Producer
- Risé Sanders
- Audio Post Assistants
- Martine Stebbing
- Steven Aguilar
- David O’Brien
- Titles & Graphics Facility
- Dizzy Giant
- Graphic Designers
- Dan Sharkey
- Matt Sharkey
- Director of Production for ITVS
- Richard O’Connell
- Series Senior Producer
- Raney Aronson-Rath
- Frontline Series Manager
- Jim Bracciale
- Frontline Contracts Manager
- Lisa Sullivan
- Production Assistant for RISE films
- John Stack
- Manu Pandey
- Kartemquin Communications Manager
- Tim Horsburgh
- Kartemquin Bookkeeping
- Yvonne Afable
- Mia Capodilupo
- Cate Ryan
- Additional Kartemquin Films staff
- Jacinta Banks
- Elizabeth Neufeld
- Leslie Simmer
- Dinesh Sabu
- Poster Design
- Damon Locks
- Poster Typesetting
- Sheila Sachs
- Still Photographer
- Aaron Wickenden
- Outreach & Civic Engagement
- Sonya Childress
- L. Anton Seals, Jr
- Legal Council to Kartemquin Films
- Holland & Knight LLP
- Robert Labate
- Jennifer Bjornberg
- Legal Council to RISE films
- Olswang LLP
- Fair use consultant
- Peter Jaszi
- Kartemquin Interns
- Ethan Barnowsky
- Jessica Bradish
- Ranjani Chakraborty
- Kate Donalek
- Michael Foley
- LaToya Flowers
- Nick Fraccaro
- Kevin Fullam
- Brett Hanover
- John Kostka
- Aubyn Niemi
- Allison Pichert
- Hannah Roodman
- Ayesha Siddiqi
- Philister Sidigu
- Tristan Steinfeld
- Emily Thomas
- Shuling Yong
- Stanzi Vaubel
- Cassie Wierenga
- Adora Wilson-Eye

Steve James
Steve James' affiliation with Kartemquin began in 1987 with the start of production of Hoop Dreams, for which he served as director, producer, and co-editor. He has since then become one of the most acclaimed documentary makers of his generation, with noted works being Stevie, The New Americans, The War Tapes, At the Death House Door, The Interrupters, Life Itself, and most recently the 2018 Academy Award®-nominated Abacus: Small Enough to Jail.

Alex Kotlowitz
Producer
Alex Kotlowitz is perhaps best known for the bestselling There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America. The book, which was published in 1991 and has since sold over half-a-million copies, was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Helen B. Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Carl Sandburg Award and a Christopher Award. The New York Public Library selected There Are No Children Here as one of the 150 most important books of the century.

Zak Piper
Zak is an Emmy and PGA award-winning documentary filmmaker who has made films for over 15 years.
Currently, Zak is producing several feature films: City So Real with producer/director Steve James; Until the Lion Speaks (working title), for Concordia Studio, with co-directors Bing Liu and Joshua Altman; and The Ants and the Grasshopper (working title), a film he is also co-directing/producing with Raj Patel and producer Rachel Wexler.

Aaron Wickenden
Aaron Wickenden is a multiple Emmy and ACE Eddie nominated editor with extensive professional experience in many aspects of the independent filmmaking process. He is regarded for bringing a tireless work ethic and playful spirit to each of his creative collaborations... including the Oscar nominated film Finding Vivian Maier.

Joshua Abrams

Justine Nagan
From 2008-2015, Justine led Kartemquin Films as Executive Director as well as being an Executive Producer on each new film. She was responsible, in concert with the Board of Directors, for creating and implementing the strategic vision for Kartemquin. Justine successfully transitioned to the ED role in a historic founder-led organization, and made major strides in building a foundation for long-term sustainability.

Gordon Quinn
Founder and Senior Advisor
Artistic Director and founding member of Kartemquin Films, Gordon Quinn has been making documentaries for over 50 years. Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun Times, called his first film Home for Life (1966) "an extraordinarily moving documentary." With Home for Life Gordon established the direction he would take for the next four decades, making cinéma vérité films that investigate and critique society by documenting the unfolding lives of real people.

Emily Hart
Emily Hart is a director, producer and cinematographer with over two decades experience creating award-winning documentary films and television. With Kartemquin Films, she produced Steve James’ No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson, which screened at festivals including SXSW, Full Frame, and iDOCS International Documentary Forum in Beijing; was broadcast as part of ESPN Films’ “30 for 30,” winner of the 2010 International Documentary Association Award for Best

Adam Singer
Filmmaker Associate; Creative Committee Co-Chair
Adam D. Singer began working with Kartemquin Films in 1989, spending 5 years on the critically acclaimed documentary Hoop Dreams, and has continued his association with them ever since. He has worked on various productions, both nationally and internationally, as a producer, cameraman and sound recordist.

Keith Walker

Jackson James

Jim Morrissette
Technical Director Emeritus
For over thirty-five years, Jim Morrissette has had extensive experience as both a professional videographer and teacher, supporting his conviction that sharing and access are instrumental to the vitality of the independent production community.

Liz Kaar

Ian Kibbe
Ian Robertson Kibbe is a freelance filmmaker, writer, producer and musician with over 10 years experience as a producer, director and editor. Ian was the engagement coordinator for the award-winning PBS documentary, The Calling, and its companion campaign, What’s Your Calling (The Kindling Group) and also the engagement coordinator for the Emmy nominated, designer cult hit, Typeface (Kartemquin Films). Ian is currently working on the upcoming Kartemquin documentaries, Raising Bertie and Unbroken Glass. Ian's work has appeared on PBS, CNN, G4, The Health Care Blog, Billboard Magazine and the Huffington Post.

Tim Horsburgh
Tim Horsburgh is an independent producer and consultant dedicated to the development, production, marketing, distributing, and impact of award-winning, impactful documentary films.
Serving on Kartemquin staff from 2009-2021, he was most recently Kartemquin’s Director of Film Strategy, leading the organization's original documentaries through their collaborative production model; industry outreach, strategic initiatives, and brand-building; and serving as the point of contact for Kartemquin Producers and Associates.

Yvonne Afable
Board Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair
Yvonne P. Afable was Kartemquin's Director of Finance from 2004-2012, before transitioning to the Board of Directors. A graduate of DePaul University, Yvonne has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting & Finance. She is a Certified Management Accountant with 16 years of accounting experience. She was an auditor for two years before beginning her career in the not-for-profit industry. She monitored the budget and assisted with investments for the American College of Surgeons before becoming the Assistant Accounting Manager.

Leslie Simmer
Director of Editing, Senior Editor on Staff
Leslie Simmer is Kartemquin's Director of Editing as well as Senior Editor on staff.
Dinesh Sabu
Dinesh Sabu made his first feature documentary Unbroken Glass with Kartemquin. It played at numerous film festivals and was broadcast on America ReFramed’s 5th Season in May 2017. Dinesh was awarded “Best Director” at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in 2017 for his debut feature.

LaToya Flowers
Latoya graduated from the School of Visual Arts and received an MFA in Social Documentary Film. She worked on the critically acclaimed documentaries; The Interrupters, A Good Man, and Running from Crazy during her internships at Kartemquin and Cabin Creek Films. Her short documentary Derby Girls, was featured in the group exhibition The Sports Show curated by the School of Visual Arts Alumni Society.

Shuling Yong
Shuling Yong is a Singapore-born, Chicago-based documentary filmmaker, sound recordist and DP with a passion for social change. She has worked on films like Radical Grace (Hot Docs, 2015, dir. Rebecca Parrish), America to Me (Sundance, 2018, dir. Steve James), and And She Could Be Next (dir. Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia).