The 2017 Palm Springs International ShortFest jury has awarded Laura Checkoway's Edith+Eddie with the 2017 prize for Best Documentary. The film will receive a cash award of $2,000 and becomes automatically eligible to submit to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar consideration. An additional screening of Edith+Eddie has been scheduled for 4pm today at the Camelot Theaters in the "Best of Fest" program: get tickets here. Continued

Raising Bertie, the debut feature by director Margaret Byrne has earned an extended run at the Studio Movie Grill Chatham in Chicago, following a successful opening weekend including two dynamic Q&A's. Tonight following the film's 7PM screening, director Margaret Byrne and Ian Kibbe will participate in a post-screening discussion with representatives of Organizing For Action Illinois. The film will play at the theater until June 29. Purchase tickets here. Find a full list of screenings of Raising Bertie during its nationwide theatrical run here. Continued

This summer we are lucky to have six talented and passionate interns join our team! The Kartemquin internship program is acclaimed by students, colleges and the film industry. Throughout the summer term, interns attend education workshops with staff members and filmmakers working with Kartemquin who teach various aspects of the documentary field and answer questions about their given project or area of expertise. These workshops include: camera and lighting, sound, dubbing, editing, ethics and fair use, project fundraising and financing, an intern demo pitch and feedback session. Meet our 2017 Summer Interns: Kai Allen Blakely Continued

A film as unflinching and fierce as its protagonists, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail has earned extended theatrical runs in New York City at the IFC Center (for the 5th consecutive week), San Francisco at the Opera Plaza Cinema and Berkeley at the Shattuck Cinemas. The film opens this Friday at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, Coolidge Corner Theater in Boston and Ritz Bourse in Philadelphia. Find details and ticket links here: www.abacusmovie.com/events Continued

Edith+Eddie, the short film by director, producer and editor Laura Checkoway, received an Honorable Mention in the Short Doc Award category from the Jury at Sheffield Doc/Fest tonight. The festival was the film's European Premiere. The film next heads to Washington D.C. to participate in AFI DOCS' Impact Lab, running June 13-14. The film will screen at AFI DOCS on Friday, June 16 at 1:45PM, in the festival's Shorts: Close Ties program. Director Laura Checkoway and producer Thomas Lee Wright will be attending. Continued

Exceeding its initial fundraising goal of $30,000, Eating Up Easter raised $35,182 in finishing funds through its Kickstarter campaign. A new Kartemquin film by filmmaker and Easter Island native Sergio Rapu, Eating Up Easter follows members of the native Rapanui community on Easter Island as they battle the globalizing effects of a booming tourism industry. A departure from previous films that have often sensationalized the "mysteries" of this remote Pacific island known for its moai, massive stone status, the documentary provides an intimate look at the actions of the Rapanui from a native filmmaker's perspective as they come face to face with the consequences of their rapidly developing island. Continued

Award-winning Raising Bertie will begin its theatrical run tonight at the Cameo Art House in Fayetteville, North Carolina as well as the Lark Theater in Larkspur, California. The debut feature by director Margaret Byrne, hailed as "Astounding and powerful" by IndieWire. is an intimate six-year portrait of three African American young men coming of age in rural Bertie County, North Carolina. Continued

Minding the Gap has been selected to participate in Film Independent's 14th annual Fast Track program, taking place at the LA Film Festival June 19-22 in Culver City. This year the program includes 24 filmmakers representing 10 different projects. The Fast Track program consists of three days of intensive meetings with top industry financiers, agents, managers, distributors, production companies and granting organizations with the aims of creating ongoing business and creative relationships and gain exposure. Among this year's industry participants are Bunim-Murray, CAA, Color Force, Electric City Entertainment, Fox Searchlight, Imperative Entertainment and more. Continued

The latest feat by renowned director Steve James, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail will run for an additional week at the IFC Center in New York, NY, after a hugely successful opening weekend that earned the film critical acclaim in The New York Times, RogerEbert.com and Film Journal International. Buy tickets to see Abacus at the IFC Center HERE. Buy tickets to see Abacus at BAM Rose Cinemas here. Continued

The Seed&Spark campaign for the new film by Ruth Leitman and Nicole Bernardi-Reis, Lady Parts Justice in the New World Order ends today. Contribute HERE! The feature length film follows activist/comedian Lizz Winstead (co-creator of The Daily Show) and her team of reproductive rights advocates as they navigate the vitriolic, conservative landscape on the ground and in the media during Year One of the Trump Presidency. Find out more about the Lady Parts Justice League here. Continued