Viva la Causa

Kartemquin Films is proud to announce the release of The Kartemquin Films Collection: The Early Years - Volume 1: 1967-1968.

The DVD features Parents and Thumbs Down, two classic cinéma vérité films from the formative period of Kartemquin's 44-year history, plus an exclusive interview with filmmakers and Kartemquin co-founders Gordon Quinn & Jerry Temaner.

In Parents, sit in with a Chicago parish youth group as they discuss issues of parental authority, growing up, and the struggle to communicate with their parents. In Thumbs Down, join the group in an anti-war Mass and witness the deepening crisis of communication between their generation and that of their parents, priests and neighbors. Thumbs Down has been digitally remastered from the original fine grains and 35mm soundtrack mix.

"Thumbs Down offers a great deal of understanding about the nature of a neighborhood that is often talked about in the most oversimplified way… Temaner and Quinn are filmmakers and 'inquiring reporters' with great insight, and they have a lot to tell us about ourselves."
—Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, 1968.

Visit the Kartemquin Store today to purchase your copy!

Coming Soon: The Early Years, Volumes 2 & 3
The release marks the latest step in Kartemquin’s attempt to re-release all of the films in our entire back-catalog by 2011. The Early Years Volume 2: 1969-1970, featuring Hum 255 and What the F&*# are These Red Squares? and Volume 3: 1971-1974, featuring Now We Live on Clifton, Trick Bag, Winnie Wright, Age 11 and Viva La Causa, will be coming to DVD this Fall. Volume 3 will also feature a special reunion interview with members of the original Kartemquin Collective.

Starting today, Friday January 29th, "documentary powerhouse" (Chicago Reader) Kartemquin Films will be showing three films inside a week at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago - and the press and public are ramping up the excitement with a flurry of blogs and reviews.

Typeface kicks off proceedings with its SOLD OUT Chicago premiere + reception at 7pm tonight (the film starts at 8pm). Director Justine Nagan will be present, along with representatives from Kartemquin, Steracle Press, Hamilton Wood Type Museum, the Center for Block and Paper Arts, the Post Family, and the screening's sponsors the Society of Typographic Arts. Merchandise will be available for sale, including new posters and t-shirts. The screening begins a week-long run at the Siskel Center, with each screening accompanied by Kartemquin's classic short Viva La Causa. Justine Nagan will also attend the 1/31 screening. Tickets available now via the Gene Siskel Film Center and Ticketmaster.

Check out an interview with Justine Nagan on Design Feaster, a feature in Reel Chicago and reviews in New City Film, Time Out Chicago, and Inksie Journal. And we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the recent Idsgn feature on the film that, along with the trailer, has lit up the blogosphere and twitterverse with Typeface talk!

Kartemquin is also very excited about the exclusive "sneak peeks" Chicago documentary fans will get of No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson, the new film director Steve James (Hoop Dreams, Stevie) this Sunday 1/31 and Thursday 2/4. Grab tickets now for a chance to be the first to see this film before it's official world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival in March. Steve James will attend both screenings. Ticket holders to Sunday's screening will also be invited to a post-screening reception.

Before you go, check out this excellent in-depth Chicago Reader feature on No Crossover, and a review in Metromix Chicago.

We'll see you at the Siskel Center!

Get your tickets now for the Chicago premiere of Typeface at the Siskel Film Center in January.

Click here for Typeface (with Viva La Causa).

Click here also for sneak peek screenings of No Crossover.

We hope you'll join us!

Chicago fans of Kartemquin Films will get the chance to see two of our newest documentaries - and one rarely seen classic short - in a single week this January at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Get tickets online here (for Typeface + Viva La Causa) and here (for No Crossover).

Beginning on January 29th with its long-awaited Chicago premiere, Typeface will have a week-long run encompassing eight screenings. Many Kartemquin staff and associates, including Executive Director and Typeface director Justine Nagan, will be present for the premiere. The film, recently awarded the "Best Documentary" prize at the Flyway Film Festival, has been generating a great deal of buzz among the design and typography communities, and is presented here in partnership with STA Chicago. Kartemquin's 1974 short Viva La Causa (directed by Teena Webb), about muralists in Chicago's Mexican community, will accompany each screening.

Also at the Gene Siskel Film Center that week, Chicago documentary fans will get a sneak peek at director Steve James' hotly anticipated No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson on January 31st and February 4th. The film is part of the ESPN 30 for 30 series and will have its official world premiere at SXSW in March 2010. Steve James will attend both screenings.

The screenings are part of the Siskel Center's Stranger Than Fiction: Documentary Premieres series. Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster and may also be purchased directly at the Gene Siskel Film Center box office, with no service fees.