October 2009

This fall marks the 15th anniversary of the 'best documentary of all time' and Kartemquin is celebrating the birthday of our beloved film Hoop Dreams by throwing an unmissable party on November 4th at the Gene Siskel Film Center.

The event will be a celebration of the groundbreaking documentary, and will feature opportunities to interact with the filmmakers and subjects, as well as prestigious guests and speakers who will discuss the film's legacy and impact. There will also be exclusive sneak previews of Kartemquin's upcoming films, and the launch of the new Kartemquin Development Fund, enabling us to support the next generation of life-changing documentary films. Please join us!

Tickets are now available via www.kartemquin.com/films/hoop-dreams/15 or by contacting Development@kartemquin.com.

Director Joanna Rudnick has launched an ambitious and innovative funding campaign for her next documentary, On Beauty.

On Beauty tells the story of former New York City fashion photographer Rick Guidotti who left the fashion world behind to photograph children with genetic diseases in order to boost self esteem , reduce stigma, and question the narrow ways in which we see and experience beauty.

In East Africa, Rick his continuing his work with the high-risk population of children who have the genetic disease Albinism (often referred to as “albinos”). Children with this disease are being hunted in cities and rural areas by witch doctors who believe their bones have medicinal powers.  Rick is helping expose the violence on an international scale through his photographs and storytelling, as well as putting pressure on the government and health care community to stop the killings.  Rick is also mounting his first ever show of his work in Nairobi, which will take place during the filming.

Please send the link below around to everyone you know who could help support our efforts to tell this story. Any donation—no matter how small—will make a difference.  We have 60 days to raise the total amount,  or else we will have to forego all of the pledges. Check out the great incentives to pledge!

Please click here to pledge your support to the film.

NBC TV Chicago visited Kartemquin Films today. The Channel 5 News team's LeeAnn Trotter was here to interview director Steve James and star William Gates about this month's event celebrating the 15th Anniversary of Hoop Dreams.

Also interviewed were student filmmakers Kia Clair and Angelo Williams from the Better Boys Foundation, whose 2 minute film tribute to Hoop Dreams will play in advance of a 16mm screening of the classic documentary this Friday 16th at the Better Boys Foundation.

The segment airs on NBC Chicago news on Thursday at 4.30pm!

For more information on Hoop Dreams 15th Anniversary events, please click here.

Viewers of NBC television in Chicago will get two chances to view projects relating to Kartemquin Films today.

First, the nationwide Bonnie Hunt Show will showcase a video about the Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute produced by Kartemquin's Joanna Rudnick (In the Family) and edited by Leslie Simmer at 2pm CST.

Then at 6pm CST NBC News Chicago will be airing interviews they conducted at Kartemquin this week related to Kartemquin's celebration of the 15th Anniversary of Hoop Dreams. Hoop Dreams director Steve James will be featured in the NBC clip along with the film's star William Gates and two students from the Better Boys Foundation who have made a short tribute to the film that will air in advance of a FREE 16mm screening of Hoop Dreams at the Better Boys Foundation on Friday October 16th.

Watch NBC Chicago news' coverage of our Hoop Dreams 15th Anniversary events by clicking here.

Kartemquin's Emmy-nominated documentary In the Family has a number of screenings this October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The series of screenings in New York City, Chicago and Washington D.C. will encompass some of the most important advocacy and health education issues raised in the film.

In New York, Joanna will screen the documentary and lend her voice to the important discussion surrounding the ethics of patenting the BRCA genes at a screening sponsored by Cardozo School of Law & The Public Patent Foundation, and at a screening sponsored by the ACLU. She will continue this discussion in Chicago at the American Society of Clinical Pathology Conference (The ASCP is a plaintiff in the ACLU case against Myriad).  Finally, in Washington DC, Joanna will screen the film at a Capitol Hill Briefing sponsored by Susan G. Komen to advocate the passing of Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s legislation promoting early detection of breast and ovarian cancer.

Check the official website for screening dates and RSVP information.

Kartemquin Films is sad to learn of the passing of artist Nancy Spero, who featured prominently in our two films chronicling the life and work of her husband of 50 years, Leon Golub. You can read more about Spero in obituaries in the New York Times and Guardian newspapers.

Kartemquin's Golub/Spero DVD features the 2004 film Golub: Late Works are the Catastrophes and also contains two films by Irena Sosa on the work of Nancy Spero. Woman as Protagonist: The Art of Nancy Spero, is a 45minute film about her confrontations with the male-dominated art world, and Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers: Nancy Spero in the NYC Subway is an 11 minute piece on the installation of Spero's mosiac murals in the 66th Street Lincoln Center Subway in Manhattan. The DVD also contains a photo gallery spanning five decades of works by both artists.

On November 4th at the Gene Siskel Film Center, Kartemquin Films will be celebrating the 15th Anniversary of their iconic documentary, Hoop Dreams. The event, in benefit of the Kartemquin Films Development Fund, is an opportunity to hear from the filmmakers and subjects of this award-winning film, often cited as the greatest documentary ever made.

To encourage the next generation of documentary filmmakers to engage with this groundbreaking work, Kartemquin is now offering a 50% discounted rate on individual tickets to the event for those aged 25 or under. Click this link for more information - http://kartemquin.com/films/hoop-dreams/15

The event will provide a one-time opportunity to mingle with leading documentary filmmakers and the subjects of the film, Arthur Agee and William Gates, while also supporting excellent documentary filmmaking in Chicago. Also, there will be the chance to hear from other award-winning filmakers and see exclusive sneak previews of Kartemquin's works in progress.

Also speaking on the night will be Alex Kotlowitz, author of acclaimed novel There Are No Children Here, and emcee for the evening WXRT's Marty Lennartz.

Kartemquin is happy to congratulate Justine Nagan, Gordon Quinn, Maria Finitzo, Liz Kaar and the rest of the Typeface team on winning Best Documentary at the 2009 Flyway Film Festival in Pepin, WI. This is the first award for the documentary about the Hamilton Woodtype Museum and the current resurgence of interest in letterpress printing among designers and artists.  Associate Producer Starr Marcello attended the festival on behalf of the film.

Kartemquin's documentary about community based conservation in Africa, Milking the Rhino also played at the festival. Listen to an interview by film website Row Three with the film's Associate Producer Xan Aranda here.