The Houston Cinema Arts Festival announced today that Gordon Quinn and Kartemquin Films would be honored at its 7th annual festival. Held from November 12th through November 19th, 2015, HCAF is hosted by the Houston Cinema Arts Society and is dedicated to showcasing films about the arts. Continued

From stories of fighting for civil rights in the 1960s to a closer look at what it means to be a shoe shiner; from a profile of an exiled Iranian film professor to a discussion of adoption in Korea, this year’s Diverse Voices in Docs (DVID) graduating fellows explored a wide variety of topics through their films. Now, the community is gearing up for a celebration and viewing of their accomplishments. Continued

Composer Joshua Abrams' acclaimed music for Life Itself and The Interrupters will be released digitally for the first time on October 16th, 2015 on itunes and emusic, via Eremite records. For more information, including a personal essay on their collaboration from director Steve James, click here. Joshua Abrams' music for Life Itself was nominated for the Best Original Score award at the 2015 Cinema Eye Honors, and was listed as one of the best scores of 2014 by Hitfix.com. Continued

This past weekend, the Saving Mes Aynak team came home with the Best Documentary Award - International One-Hour Film Competition at the CinemAmbiente International Environmental Film Festival. The festival, in its 18th year, took place in Torino, Italy from October 6-11, 2015. CinemAmbiente serves as one of the leading environmental film festivals in the world. In awarding this prize, CinemAmbiente recognizes Saving Mes Aynak for its "balanced presentation and concise treatment of the political, cultural, human, social, and environmental issues in present day Afghanistan." Congratulations to the Saving Mes Aynak team and collaborators! Continued

Following a successful summer of events, On Beauty has announced several new educational initiatives. The film, directed by Joanna Rudnick, challenges us to rethink the way we see differences and norms while also redefining beauty. On Beauty’s distribution partner, Women Make Movies, will assist in creating educational DVDs for schools and other institutions to screen. Not only will this bring the film to students across the country, but also serve as a perfect pair with the film’s other educational materials. DVDs will be completed by early 2016. You can pre-order here. Continued

On Sunday, October 11th, the 2015 fellows of the Diverse Voices in Docs (DVID) program celebrated their graduation from the esteemed program at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts on the University of Chicago campus. Now in its third year, DVID aims to help filmmakers of color increase their skillset and network as well as provides them with a venue to screen their works in progress and aid in completing their own documentary projects. Continued

Kartemquin Films has been making waves in the community with Peabody Award-winning director Maria Finitzo’s latest film In the Game. Last week, the filmmakers hosted two screenings at the very place the documentary’s story centers--Thomas Kelly High School in Brighton Park, Chicago. Additionally, Harold Washington Library hosted a special screening on October 5th to kick off the popular One Book, One Chicago program for the Chicago Public Library. Continued

The International Documentary Association (IDA) will present its prestigious 2015 Career Achievement Award to Gordon Quinn, Founder and Artistic Director of Kartemquin Films. Gordon will receive the honor at the 31st Annual IDA Documentary Awards at Paramount Pictures' Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 5, 2015. Previous winners of the illustrious award include Robert Redford, Werner Herzog, Barbara Kopple, DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, Ricky Leacock, Albert Maysles, Frederick Wiseman, Henry Hampton, Robert Drew, Michael Moore, Marcel Ophuls, Jean Rouch, Walter Cronkite, and Bill Moyers. Continued

Kartemquin staff will be speaking at two panels at the Chicago International Film Festival on October 23rd as a part of the film festival's Industry Days conference. Kartemquin's own Beckie Stocchetti will be speaking on a panel entitled, 'Making an Impact: How to Build Coalitions, Engage Communities, and Change the World Through Film' from 1:00-2:00 pm on the 23rd. Continued

Steve James will be a visiting filmmaker at the Columbus College of Art and Design in November through the Visiting Artists and Scholars Series. Three of Steve James' documentaries will be screened the first week of November for students, followed by a discussion with James on Thursday, November 5 at 6:30 pm. The following Steve James documentaries will be screened Tuesday, November 3, 2015 through November 5, 2015 in the Canzani Auditorium: The Interrupters - Tuesday, November 3 at 6:30 p.m.Hoop Dreams - Wednesday, November 4 at 6:30 p.m.Life Itself - Thursday, November 5 at 4:30 p.m. The aim of the Visiting Artists and Scholars Series is to engage students with different professional artists, ranging from filmmakers to poets. Find out more at: http://www.ccad.edu/events-2015/steve-james. Continued