March 6, 2017 4:10 pm
Kartemquin's newest release, Edith+Eddie and the latest film by director Steve James, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail both enjoyed highly anticipated and enthusiastically-met runs at the True/False Film Fest, running March 2nd-March 5th.
EDITH+EDDIE
Edith+Eddie world premiered to a sold-out crowd on March 2nd, with Julia Reichert––director of A Lion in the House––describing the film as, "One of the most beautiful and quietly furious films I have ever seen."
Praise for EDITH+EDDIE
"As wrenching as Edith+Eddie becomes, it still resonates most immediately as an intimate portrait of two people whose company you will come to prize as much as they clearly do each other’s...[Checkoway's] ability to give voice to those without a platform and her insights into a broken system purely through their personal stories has made her a truly exciting filmmaker to watch."
— Stephen Saito, Moveable Fest
"It is the mix of incredible access and a willingness to embrace a story’s shrewdly synthesized structure, running the gamut from unbelievable fantasy to unbearable nightmare, that yields an extraordinarily memorable work of nonfiction that stands among the festival’s best."
— Jordan M. Smith, NonFics.com
"Edith+Eddie starts out feeling like an inspirational story. A black woman and white man find each other, and love, in their mid-90s. But as the couple is separated due to a legal battle, what could have been a life-affirming hug turns into something darker: an indictment of the elder-care system, with racial undertones."
— Steven Zeitchik, Los Angeles Times
"I've never seen a film that in just 30minutes was so full of love and appreciation of what it really means." - Julia Reichert #truefalse pic.twitter.com/Kc3GyzPGbD
— Edith+Eddie (@EdithEddieFilm) March 4, 2017
Director Laura Checkoway was in attendance for all three sold-out screenings. The short doc, following the unusual and idyllic love story of Edith Hill and Eddie Harrison, America's oldest interracial newlyweds, struck chords with audience members and reviewers alike:
Edith + Eddie is beautiful & important: a fighting narrative of love in the face of ageism, racism and systematic legal injustice #TrueFalse
— Ashlyn West (@ashlyncwest) March 3, 2017
If you're @TrueFalse Sunday, Edith+Eddie, an inspiring love story and infuriating elder rights legal drama, shouldn't be missed.
— Stephen Saito (@mfrushmore) March 4, 2017
"Edith Hill and Eddie Harrison show what it means to love." - @VoxMag https://t.co/jOFA9z6uSt
— Edith+Eddie (@EdithEddieFilm) March 4, 2017
ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL
Adding to its already gaining momentum, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail enthralled the film's three sold-out crowds over the weekend, with director Steve James in attendance for all three screenings.
Steve James' Abacus: Small Enough to Jail is superb. Whip-smart, fast, funny, suspenseful, outrageous. #truefalse
— AJ Schnack (@ajschnack) March 4, 2017
Abacus Small Enough To Jail: A fantastic look at resilience by a beautiful family when put up against a Goliath. @truefalse
— Jesse R. Slade (@jesseslade) March 5, 2017
ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL is a solid accounting of overzealous prosecution, enhanced by Steve James' evocation of family and community.
— Scott Tobias (@scott_tobias) March 5, 2017
It was a particularly triumphant weekend for James, winning the True/False "Gimme Truth."
Coming up, Abacus goes to San Francisco for CAAMfest, Long Island for the Port Jefferson Documentary Series, and Cleveland for the Cleveland International Film Festival on March 31 and April 1, where director Steve James will be honored with the festival's Director's Spotlight Award.
To find out when Edith+Eddie is coming to you, stay connected to the film on Facebook, Twitter or sign up for the film's mailing list.
Want to see these two films?
Request a screening for Edith+Eddie here.
Request a screening for Abacus here.