Refrigerator Mothers

Kartemquin is currently experiencing an incredible flurry of screenings and media attention, with over 60 screenings and television airings of our films scheduled in the rest of April alone! This explosion can be attributed to the extended Chicago run of Prisoner of Her Past, the continuing popular interest in Typeface, the unstoppable success of Milking the Rhino, and the appearance of No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson at a number of festivals around it's world television premiere on ESPN. Many classic Kartemquin films will also be screening at festivals and special events.

It's almost too much for us to comprehend, and we wouldn't want you to miss anything, so please check out our Events Calendar to see if one of these great films is screening near you. For your convenience, here's a breakdown of some recent reviews, media appearances and upcoming screenings that you should look out for:

• Prisoner of Her Past begins a 15 performance run at Chicago's Siskel Film Center tomorrow. Check out reviews from Chicago Reader, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Time Out Chicago, and Howard Reich's beautiful Chicago Tribune article. If you're in the Chicago area, be sure to watch Howard Reich's interview on NBC 5 Chicago's The Talk at 8am on Holocaust Remembrance Day, Sunday, April 11th. The DVD of the film will be available to buy from April 12th in the Kartemquin store.

• No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson director Steve James will be on NPR's Morning Edition on April 13th, and also on WBEZ Chicago Public Radio's 848 at 9am on April 13th. The film will also be screening at the following festivals in April: Full Frame; Dallas; Sarasota; Philadelphia; River Run; and Nashville. Check here for specific listings. We'll also keep you updated on the many media appearances and reviews of the film that will emerge in relation to the film's world television premiere on April 13th, but here's a good one from this week's Chicago screening.

• Typeface is enjoying a Midwest mini-tour this month, with Illinois screenings in Dekalb, Evanston, Geneva, Champaign and Peoria alongside what promises to be an electric (and already sold out) screening at director Justine Nagan's alma mater of Madison for the Wisconsin Film Festival on April 18th. The film is also catching fire with letterpress and wood type fans across the world and will also travel to Honolulu, Charlotte, Newport Beach and London in April. Full listings here. Also, watch this space for news of the DVD release and an exciting competition!

• It's official: Milking the Rhino cannot be stopped. Director David E. Simpson presents the film in Tallahassee this weekend, and it's also screening at festivals in Phoenix, Milwaukee, Davis and Raleigh, before ending the month at the London International Documentary Film Festival. Full listings here.

• Maybe the new films aren't your thing? There's screenings of Taylor Chain I: A Story in a Union Local, Hoop Dreams, Refrigerator Mothers, and Golub in April as well, including a mini-retrospective of Kartemquin films at the first ever Amnesty International Film Festival.

Many Kartemquin staff members, producers and associates will be present at these screenings. Say hello to us!

Kartemquin is excited to announce the launch of JJ's list, an on-line community resource for individuals with disabilities and their families.  JJ's list is the brainchild of Kartemquin Associate JJ Hanley.  JJ was the producer of Kartemquin's acclaimed film, Refrigerator Mothers.  Congratulations to JJ and thanks to Leslie Simmer for editing the short video you see on the site.  Check it out!

Kartemquin's JJ Hanley will give a presentation on her experience
with fair use and licensing during the making of Refrigerator Mothers, and will share other Kartemquin
fair use experiences, on December 3rd, in St. Louis at an event sponsored
by the St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. Get
the details.

JJ Hanley, producer of Refrigerator Mothers, shared the stage with pioneer
mothers who raised their autistic children during the era of “mother
blame” of the 50s and 60s during the Autism Society of
America’s (ASA) national conference in Phoenix, AZ this week. The
conference ran from July 11th - 14th.

The leader of the panel, titled
"Mothers from the Freudian/Psychoanalytic Era Respond to the
Documentary Refrigerator Mothers", was Ruth Sullivan, first elected
president of the ASA in the 1960s, founder of the Autism Services Center of
West Virginia and a long-time advocate for the rights and advancement of
autistic people. Eustacia Cutler, mother of Temple Grandin and author of
AThorn in My Pocket, read excerpts from her account of her experience with
the psychiatric profession while raising her daughter, who is a well-known
autistic person and a very accomplished professional. Mary Flanagan,
long-time advocate and crusader for the rights of autistic people in New
York and one of the subjects of the documentary spoke of the damage that
Freudian era did to families. The four mothers led the panel discussion,
before a full house of parents and professionals.