Hoop Dreams

Kartemquin is sad to share the passing of Woody Wickham, a good friend of the organization. Mr. Wickham died of cancer in his Chicago home on Sunday, January 18th. Woody was a strong supporter of Kartemquin Films and was an early backer of Hoop Dreams during his work at the MacArthur Foundation. Gordon Quinn describes him as "a brilliant and visionary guy" in Wickham's obituary in the Chicago Tribune.

Our thoughts are with his friends and family. He will be missed.

As we move into 2009, we celebrate the 15th anniversary of Kartemquin's classic film, Hoop Dreams. Stay tuned for events over the course of the year ahead. In the meantime, read this great blog post from David Sikich, a friend of Kartemquin and half of the PR team that repped the film during its initial release.

Kartemquin's Steve James will curate a series of sports films for Full Frame's 2009 thematic program, "This Sporting Life" . In recent years, Full Frame has screened James’ Stevie, Reel Paradise, and At the Death House Door, which received the Inspiration Award at the festival last year.

James describes his involvement, “When Full Frame approached me about curating a series of sports films, it took me two seconds to say yes. Maybe it has something to do with a lifelong fascination with sports and film. And I’ve been a fan of how Full Frame selects a topic each year to do a series of films around. It challenges the viewer to engage with documentaries both thematically and historically, something that doesn’t happen enough in the festival world.”

Get more information.

Kartemquin is thrilled to announce that Peter Gilbert and Steve James have been nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for At the Death House Door. It is Peter's third DGA nomination (he won in 1998 with Jerry Blumenthal and Gordon Quinn for Vietnam: Long Time Coming). It is Steve's second nomination, having previously won for Hoop Dreams.

The winners will be announced at the 61st Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 31, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. Read more.

As an historic Portland Art House is closing, the owners reminisce about the past- including screening Kartemquin's classic Hoop Dreams. Read the article.

Recently a reporter from The Chicago Tribune caught up with the stars of Kartemquin's classic Hoop Dreams. Read the story.

Check out this list of Vanity Fair's top 25 documentary films, including Kartemquin's Hoop Dreams.

Read a recent review of Kartemquin's classic Hoop Dreams in the latest edition of the Mental Floss blog. The film's new digital availability is sparking renewed interest in the award-winning documentary.

A screening of Kartemquin's classic Hoop Dreams is launching Doc New Zealand's new "Doc Focus" community screening initiative on Tuesday night, July 29. Get the details

Entertainment Weekly recently named Kartemquin's Hoop Dreams as one of the top 100 "New Classic Movies." The film was one of only two docs included on the list. The film was ranked #26– see what else is on the list.

Kartemquin recently donated 200 copies of Hoop Dreams to the Chicago Public Schools district. The CPS Offices of Arts Education and Sports Administration are collaborating to distribute the film to schools around Chicago.

Kartemquin's Steve James was quoted in an article today in the Philanthrophy News Digest about the ever-changing documentary funding landscape. Kartemquin has strived to build strong relationships with foundations over time to help support documentary work, particularly since the break-out success of our film Hoop Dreams.

Hoop Dreams tied with Hoosiers for #1 placement on a recent MSN list of the top Basketball films of all time. Check out the list.

Kartemquin's Hoop Dreams was recently listed on The Center for American Progress' list of the "Top 25 Progressive Films" of all time on their website as a part of their Reel Progress initiative. They are currently polling for the most progressive film on the list. Vote now!

Kartemquin's 1994 hit, Hoop Dreams, will screen this afternoon at the Westport Massachusetts Public Library, next Wednesday at the Wakefield Branch of the New York Public Library and then again in March in Essex, Connecticut as a part of a community series of important documentaries at the Essex Library. Get more information.

Kartemquin's Hoop Dreams was recently mentioned on the Oxford University Press Blog on a list of favorite documentaries. Check it out.

Chicago's ABC affiliate, ABC7, recently featured Kartemquin's Steve James during their "People, Places, & Things" program. This weekend's show sought to bring audiences an update on Kartemquin's doc Hoop Dreams– by interviewing William Gates, Arthur Agee and Steve James. The program aired Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Kartemquin is thrilled to announce that its 1994 Academy-Award nominated film, Hoop Dreams, received the top ranking in a list released today by the International Documentary Association (IDA). Director Steve James responded to the honor, ""I am totally humbled by this distinction. There areso many great documentaries on the list and not on the list that could have easily been given this honor. I think Hoop Dreams' staying power is due to the courage and honesty of the Gates and Agee families who let us so completely into their lives. And to what one reviewer wrote about all the dramatic twists and turns in their story: 'Hoop Dreams' script was by God.'"

The film, made by Steve James, Peter Gilbert and Frederick Marx, was named "best documentary" in the list of 25 top documentaries created to celebrate the IDA's 25th anniversary. Sandra Ruch, Executive Director of the IDA, described Hoop Dreams' appeal in an article in Indie Wire: "People have always responded strongly to 'Hoop Dreams', maybe as it's such an American story, about a beloved indigenous sport and issues we have always grappled with in this country - race and class. It brought us a real story of the indomitable human spirit, rather than the cliches of the 'Rocky''s and 'Chariots of Fire' of the era." The top 25 documentaries on the list will be featured in the upcoming Oct/Nov edition of the IDA magazine.

Read the rest of the list.

Kartemquin's classic, Hoop Dreams, was recently featured in an article in the Charlotte Observer as a great summer film for kids.

If it is, vote for it as AFI compiles a list of America's favorite movies.

Kartemquin's Steve James has been invited to join The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This September Steve, and the 114 other 2007 inductees, will be welcomed in at an invitation-only ceremony in Los Angeles.

On February 27th, Gordon Quinn and Peter Gilbert represented Kartemquin at the 10th Anniversary Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund event at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington DC. The fund has been providing opportunities for inner-city DC public school children since 1996.

Peter Gilbert reflected on the event: "For Gordon and I, it was an exciting evening. Hoop Dreams was a work of passion for all of us at Kartemquin. Seeing the film used as the inspiration for such a wonderful and important organization 10 years after the release of the film was heartwarming. We all make social issue films with the hope that they will make some small impact in the community. Being at The Hoop Dreams Scholarship Foundation anniversary gave us great joy in knowing that we played just a small part in a wonderful organization that carries the film’s name."

Susie Kay, the fund's founder, found inspiration in Kartemquin's documentary Hoop Dreams while teaching American Government at H.D. Woodson High School. She wanted to reward students who were working hard despite immense adversity and help them find means to attend college. Over the last 10 years, Susie and her Board have funded over 1,400 academic scholarships and sent 800 Washington DC Public School children to college. Each student is matched with a mentor in the business world who helps guide him or her through college and life.

Read The Examiner’s coverage of the event here (pdf).

Kartemquin’s 1994 documentary, Hoop Dreams, is featured this month as a "staff pick" in the MediaRights on-line store. Browse this list of doc all-stars for holiday gift ideas. MediaRights is a non-profit, community organization created to help extend the reach of social-issue documentaries.