Kartemquin is delighted to announce that Cher has joined the team on our award-winning short documentary Edith+Eddie as Executive Producer. The short film – directed, produced and edited by Laura Checkoway – follows the story of America's oldest interracial newlyweds, Edith Hill and Eddie Harrison, whose love story is interrupted by a family feud that threatens to tear the couple apart. Continued

Kartemquin Films is pleased to announce the addition of four esteemed new members to the organization’s board, including Caty Borum Chattoo, Fenell Doremus, Neal Robin and Stephen Whisnant. The four additions join the board ahead of the Chicago documentary production not-for-profit’s September board meeting. Kartemquin’s board is now comprised of 15 members, led by Chair Jason Stephens and Vice-Chair Susan Morrison. Continued

Edith+Eddie by director Laura Checkoway was named a semi-finalist for the 11th Annual Cinema Eye Honors' 2018 "Shorts List," which celebrates outstanding achievement in nonfiction short filmmaking. Edith+Eddie, as well as the other ten films on the "Shorts List"––consisting of the most acclaimed short documentaries of the year––will screen at the 2017 Camden International Film Festival. Edith+Eddie will screen on Sunday, September 17 at 10AM. The announcement comes on the heels of the film winning the Nevada City Film Festival's Best Documentary Short Award, winning the film an encore screening at the Nevada City Film Festival on Friday, September 15 9PM. Continued

Edith+Eddie by Laura Checkoway has been awarded Best Documentary Short by the fest, with an additional screening of the film slated for Friday, September 15 at 9PM PDT. The film has enjoyed an award-studded festival run since its world premiere in March, 2017 at the True/False Film Fest, earning Best Short at the Montclair Film Festival, Jury Honorable Mention at the Sheffield Doc/Fest, the Flickers' Youth Film Jury Award for Best Documentary at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Jury Award for Best Documentary. Continued

Deadline announced today that director Justin Lin will direct a feature film based on Abacus: Small Enough to Jail by director Steve James. Lin and his Perfect Storm Entertainment production company have optioned the remake rights to the documentary and the life story rights of the Sung Family. Kenneth Lin (House of Cards) will write the screenplay. Abacus producer Mark Mitten will be a producer on the feature, with the Abacus' director Steve James (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters, Life Itself) serving as an executive producer. Continued

Kartemquin Films and The Community Film Workshop of Chicago will present the latest graduates of their acclaimed Diverse Voices in Docs (DVID) program on October 2, 6pm at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts in Chicago. Sabaah Folayan, the co-director of acclaimed 2017 documentary Whose Streets?, currently distributed in theaters by Magnolia Pictures, will deliver the keynote speech at the event, where each of the graduates will present a preview of their latest documentary project. The graduation is free to attend. RSVP here. Continued

Murray Lerner, Academy Award-winning filmmaker, passed away on Sep. 2 at his home in Long Island City at the age of 90. Lerner was twice-nominated for an Academy Award: first for his 1967 film Festival!, which documented the Newport Folk Festivals 1963-66, including the iconic performance of Bob Dylan going electric at Newport in 1965. Kartemquin Artistic Director and co-founder Gordon Quinn met Lerner after moving to New York to work on Festival! "He was a passionate filmmaker who loved the unlikely juxtapositions you see in his films. At the time Festival! was the biggest film I had ever worked on and Murray had the vision and tenacity to see this multi-year project through. The summer spent on Martha's Vineyard editing with Murray and Howard Alk was one of the formative experiences of my career," said Quinn. Continued

Following its highly anticipated broadcast on PBS' prestigious documentary strand POV last night, August 28, award-winning Raising Bertie is now available to stream for free on PBS.org. There was an outpouring of reverence and appreciation for the film, the filmmakers, and its subjects following the nationwide broadcast. A robust and thoughtful audience on social media tuned in and chimed in about #RaisingBertiePBS. #RaisingBertiePBS is a must see #documentary Continued

Raising Bertie will have its world television broadcast premiere on PBS' POV tonight, August 28th, as part of the prestigious PBS documentary strand's 30th season. Check local listings here. An intimate, six-year portrait of three boys growing into adulthood in Bertie County, located in rural Eastern North Carolina, the film offers viewers a respectful and tender insight into the emotional lives of Reginald “Junior” Askew, David “Bud” Perry, and Davonte “Dada” Harrell. This raw and starkly poetic cinéma vérité film weaves their stories together as they navigate school, unemployment, violence, first love, fatherhood, and estrangement from family members and mentors, subtly exploring the complex relationships between generational poverty, economic isolation, and educational inequity. Continued

Kartemquin will be well-represented at this year's Camden International Film Festival, with Abacus: Small Enough to Jail earning a place in CIFF's 'Best of Fest' program; Abacus director Steve James participating in the Points North Forum's The Verité Director workshop with Jeff Unay (THE CAGE FIGHTER); KTQ Internship grad Sebastián Pinzón Silva's short Palenque will screen in the fest's shorts program, and two #KTQLabs grads Shot in the Dark and Quest will screen at the fest as well (Shot in the Dark will open the festival). Continued