The Department of Cinema & Media Studies and the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago are pleased to invite you to the premiere of Hyphenated Humor, a documentary produced by University of Chicago students in partnership with Kartemquin Films (The Interrupters, Golub, Hoop Dreams). The film will be screened at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 7, 2012 at the Logan Center for the Arts (915 East 60th Street, Chicago), and will be followed by a discussion and reception.
Hyphenated Humor follows the members of Arab-issh, a collective of emerging multi-ethnic comics who use comedy to discuss their lives, struggles, and experiences as they straddle two cultures while living in Chicago. Through following this group of comics, from home to work to stage performance, the film takes viewers through the creative process and into a humorous and complex examination of culture.
This premiere screening is free and open to the public. It will be followed by a discussion between the filmmakers and the audience.
UChicago students participated in a two-quarter undergraduate Documentary Production course, co-taught by Judy Hoffman (UChicago; Kartemquin associate) and Jerry Blumenthal (Kartemquin), which culminates in Hyphenated Humor, a film the students developed from concept to final cut. The innovative course and collaboration between the Department of Cinema & Media Studies and Kartemquin Films was made possible by support from the Charles Roven Fund for Cinema & Media Studies at the University of Chicago. The screening of Hyphenated Humor will also be a moment to recognize the support of Charles Roven, producer of films such as The Dark Knight Rises and that series' two preceding films, Three Kings, and Twelve Monkeys.
"We have a long history with the University of Chicago," said Kartemquin Executive Director Justine Nagan. "We were founded by three Uchicago grads in 1966, regularly hire interns from there, and have collaborated with various departments and individuals over the years, including a major retrospective with the Human Rights Department in 2005.
For this most recent collaboration, we were approached by Kartemquin Associate and UChicago lecturer Judy Hoffman with an idea for a co-production. Could we take Kartemquin’s approach to documentary creation and use it to help guide a group of students through a film project in a relatively short period of time? We met several times to discuss different ways we might partner- and the current class emerged from those discussions."
For additional information, please contact: Mitch Marr Marketing Manager Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts University of Chicago mhmarr@uchicago.edu 773.702.2997
