Kartemquin Films

11/01/2024

The most frightening thing this week is not Halloween, it's that it's already Friday and it's November 😱

We've picked something a little different for Film Friday today: Chasing Chasing Amy (2023) a film produced by Alex Schmider - one of our wonderful Hulu/Kartemquin Accelerator mentors.

Director Sav Rodgers offers a fresh perspective on identity and LGBTQ+ film culture through a reflective journey inspired by the 1997 classic Chasing Amy. Featuring insights from notable voices like Guinevere Turner (Go Fish) and Andrew Ahn (Fire Island), this documentary highlights the profound impact of nuanced storytelling on LGBTQ+ communities and the power of art to connect personal and cultural narratives.

The film hits theatres nationwide TODAY! For more info go here:

10/29/2024

HUGE CONGRATS to Colette Ghunim (.sanctuary) who has been chosen as one of the 10 recipients of the One House Filmmakers Fund by and 🏆

We're so thrilled is being recognized and couldn’t be prouder of Colette! 👏

The fund is designed to provide unrestricted financing, educational support and amplification for filmmakers from historically underrepresented communities.

Traces of Home was selected for the 2020 /Kartemquin Accelerator and is now a KTQ Co Production. Colette is a Kartemquin Diverse Voices In Docs (DVID) alum.

Our congrats also goes to the other 9 filmmakers: Pierre Coleman (“Ricky”), Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan (“Hum”), Julia Kennelly (“Clare”) Sofian Khan (“Karachi Sky”), Naomi Ko (“Marry Korean”), April Maxey (“Work”), John Sutter (“Planet A”), Angela Tucker (“The Inquisitor”) and Jing Wang (“Ride With Delivery Workers”).

Sundance Institute and Gold House have named the 2024 recipients of the One House Filmmakers Fund.

10/25/2024

Film Friday! We featured this week's pick recently but this is a very, very special occasion.

Superstar/Spiderman Andrew Garfield took a trip to the Criterion Collection Closet this week and guess what was one of his picks? Hoop Dreams (1994)!

Andrew, you have great taste.

Find Andrew's full Closet clip - plus much more - in the latest KTQ newsletter, which landed in your inbox moments ago!

Not yet subscribed to our newsletter? Subscribe here - https://kartemquin.org/connect/

10/24/2024

JOIN US - Sunday, November 3, as Kartemquin and FACETS continue the Vital Conversations discussion series with a very special panel event – Media, The Great Equalizer? 🗣️

This powerful exploration of how activists are creatively using media to engage, activate, and organize—and the voices we still need to amplify. Featuring panelists from Girl Voter, Free Spirit Media, and Community Film Workshop of Chicago , moderated by Maxwell Evans of Block Club Chicago

Tickets are $10 or FREE if you’re 25 or under! Enter code VITALBOGO at checkout to get one free ticket with your purchase.

Click link for info and tickets - https://facets.org/programs/vital-conversations-media-the-great-equalizer/

10/23/2024

APPLICATIONS CLOSING FRIDAY - submit your short film project by this Friday, Oct 25th for consideration for the 2024/25 Diverse Voices In Docs Fellowship!

For more info and to apply go to the link below 🎬

SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN FOR THE 2024 DVID FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM – DEADLINE EXTENDED! Submissions are now open for the 2024 Diverse Voices In Docs (DVID) Fellowship Program – APPLY WHERE! Apply with your short film project […]

10/22/2024

A CELEBRATION IN ARKANSAS TODAY - Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival will honor Steve James with the 2024 Brent Renaud Career Achievement Award. Hearty congratulations from all of us Steve!

This award recognizes filmmakers and journalists who have dedicated their careers to covering challenging, underreported stories and who have made significant contributions to the field of documentary filmmaking.

If you're at the festival the awards event is FREE and open to the public, info in link in bio.

And we're there too - haydée souffrant, KTQ's Manager of Filmmaker Programs is at the fest all this week so do come say hello!

10/17/2024

ONLY ONE WEEK LEFT to submit your short film project to the next round of DVID! Applications close Oct 25th at 11.59pm.

Go to the link for more info and to apply 🎬

SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN FOR THE 2024 DVID FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM – DEADLINE EXTENDED! Submissions are now open for the 2024 Diverse Voices In Docs (DVID) Fellowship Program – APPLY WHERE! Apply with your short film project […]

10/16/2024

Wishing our dear friends all the very best for their 60th festival! 🎉

With 120 features, 70 shorts plus a whole host of industry events and parties, it promises to be the best one yet.

Click link for info and tickets - www.chicagofilmfestival.com

10/15/2024

THANK YOU Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events for recognizing the work we do with a 2024 CityArts grant! 🎉

This support makes it possible for us to collaborate with an amazing cohort of filmmakers, and we couldn’t be more grateful. 🎥

10/14/2024

FREE online mentor session featuring KTQ's Stacy Robinson and filmmaker Rita Coburn!

Facilitated by the , explore essential tools for storytelling, including the use of historical footage and creative techniques when archival material is limited. Register now to gain valuable insights into building compelling narratives that bring characters and history to life with depth and richness.

📅 When: Oct 15
🕕 Time: 4:00 PM CST
🔗 Register: https://shorturl.at/qZ7pU

The Lincoln Presidential Foundation's is also inviting filmmakers aged 14 to 22 to showcase their creative visions through short films (5-8 minutes) with its Latest Generation Film Contest. The prompt is what does “On This Land” mean to you? More info via www.lincolnpresidential.org

10/11/2024

We're spoiling you for choice this Film Friday - our friends are screening at 4k restoration of Burden Of Dreams (1982) this weekend.

Hailed as "one of the most remarkable documentaries about filmmaking," Les Blank and Maureen Gosling’s Burden of Dreams offers an unforgettable glimpse into legendary director Werner Herzog’s relentless journey to create his most ambitious project, Fitzcarraldo.

Set in the heart of the Amazon, this captivating film captures the madness, determination, and passion that go into bringing a cinematic dream to life ( ).

Tix and info via link below! 🚢

Burden of Dreams captures legendary director Werner Herzog’s filming of his most ambitious film Fitzcarraldo, in which an entrepreneur (Klaus Kinski) endeavors to push a steamship over a mountain to build an opera house in the Amazon jungle, one thousand miles away from civilization.Featuring visc...

10/11/2024

It's Film Friday folks! 🎥 This week's fitting pick is '63 Boycott (2017), directed by Gordon Quinn.

In 1963, 250,000 students boycotted the Chicago Public Schools to protest racial segregation. '63 Boycott connects the forgotten story of one of the largest Northern civil rights demonstrations to contemporary issues around race, education, and youth activism.

Link below for ways to watch. Visit the film's website for a host of resources including study and discussion guides - www. 63boycott.kartemquin.org 📚

In 1963, 250,000 students boycotted the Chicago Public Schools to protest racial segregation. '63 Boycott connects the forgotten story of one of the largest Northern civil rights demonstrations to contemporary issues around race, education, and youth activism.

10/04/2024

FILM FRIDAY but make it in person with director Kevin Shaw and Kartemquin's Gordon Quinn!

LET THE LITTLE LIGHT SHINE (2022) - A high-achieving elementary school near downtown Chicago is a lifeline for low-income and Black students, until gentrification threatens its closure as a school for wealthy families tries to move into the area.

This event is part of University of Chicago's symposium Kartemquin Films: Documentaries for Democracy running this weekend.

Grab your free tickets for this and all the weekend's events - https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/kartemquin-films-documentaries-for-democracy-tickets-1026931619117?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

10/03/2024

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to director Jiayan 'Jenny' Shi and producer Diane Quon on receiving ITVS funding for Untitled Scientist Project! 👏

As geopolitical tensions escalate, the ideas of open science and academic freedom are being interrogated in the name of national security. Shi asks, can science ever transcend political borders?

Untitled Scientist Project is also supported by Kartemquin's Zhao-Chen Family AAPI Voices Fund and Jenny was a 2018 KTQ DVID Fellow.

Side note - submissions are now open for 2024/25 KTQ DVID Fellowship. Further info and apply here - https://kartemquin.org/program/diverse-voices-in-docs/

10/02/2024

YOUR WEEKEND PLANS - join us for Kartemquin Films: Documentaries for Democracy at the University of Chicago!

This symposium will celebrate the legacy of Kartemquin Films with a host of screenings, panels, and discussions with filmmakers and scholars.

Patricia Aufderheide will also be launching her latest book 'Kartemquin Films: Documentaries on the Frontlines of Democracy' at the event.

📅 Dates: October 4-5
📍 Location: Logan Center & Cobb Hall, University of Chicago

Info and tickets in the link below!

Join us for a weekend celebrating Kartemquin Films!

09/30/2024

We're at GOTHAM WEEK, come say hello!

Oct 2nd 12:30 PM | Centering Impact & Ethics during Story Development.

This session will be led by haydée souffrant, Manager of Filmmaker Programs at KTQ

This interactive workshop will explore how filmmakers can consider audience engagement and impact campaign design, development, and implementation as part of their story development during the filmmaking process.

Info and tickets via the link below!

ABOUT GOTHAM WEEK EXPO The 2024 Gotham Week Expo, taking place September 30th - October 3rd in Brooklyn, NY, brings together partners from The Got ...

09/29/2024

🌟 A Huge THANK YOU! 🌟

We're still recovering from yesterday’s unforgettable celebration of the court activation at Garfield Park in honor of Hoop Dreams at 30. What a day!

We appreciate every single person who contributed to the success of this celebration and made it an event to remember.

THANK YOU to the men of the hour, Arthur Agee .hoopdreams and William Gates (who might still be there signing posters!), the Agee and Gates families, coaches and friends featured in the film, the incredible local vendors, and amazing local community and to everyone from KTQ that showed up in full support.

Heartfelt thanks to Stephan Gilbert, Ash Godfrey, Jahmal Cole and the entire team; Danielle Peterson and the wonderful crew; the team, Levette Haynes from West Side Cultural Arts Council; the fantastic team at and .sports; Keith Norward from the Mayor's office and Brandon Johnson for making the day truly special. Thanks also to at and at for covering the event.

And to the filmmakers, Steve James, Peter Gilbert, Frederick Marx and the mighty Gordon Quinn. What an incredible legacy from what began as an idea for a 30 minute film over 30 years ago 🏀

Official photos and video coming soon! If you'd like to check out the stunning court for yourself it's in Garfield Park on Jackson Blvd and Central Ave.

On Saturday, the community came out to support the unveiling of a new basketball court in Garfield Park that also honors a special anniversary.

09/28/2024

IMPORTANT FORMATION - For those celebrating the court unveiling with us today the court is on Jackson Blvd and Woodward Dr.

See you there!

09/27/2024

WORK IS COMPLETE, TIME TO CELEBRATE! Join us tomorrow in Garfield Park at the unveiling of the newly renovated court in honor of the 30th anniversary of Hoop Dreams and its enduring legacy 🎥 🏀

Brandon Johnson will be there along with very special guests Arthur Agee Jr and William Gates, the stars of the film.

⌚ 1pm to 4pm
📍 Garfield Park - 100 N. Central Park Ave., 60624

ALL WELCOME - Free, family friendly event, no ticket needed! *Event will take place hail, rain or shine.

📷
.sports .hoopdreams

09/26/2024

JOIN US for Kartemquin Films: Documentaries for Democracy at the University of Chicago!

The symposium will celebrate the legacy of Kartemquin Films with a host of screenings, panels, and discussions with filmmakers and scholars.

Patricia Aufderheide will also be launching her book 'Kartemquin Films: Documentaries on the Frontlines of Democracy'

📅 Dates: October 4-5
📍 Location: Logan Center & Cobb Hall, University of Chicago

Details and tickets here - https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/kartemquin-films-documentaries-for-democracy-symposium-tickets-1026935731417

09/25/2024

Big thanks to Ben Osborne at magazine for celebrating 30 years of Hoop Dreams with an incredible feature on the film's legacy! 🙌

"Whether you’re a longtime basketball junkie who already knows everything there is to know about Hoop Dreams, the cinematic masterpiece about Arthur Agee, William Gates and their families, or a young buck just learning about the film for the first time, you have to understand how utterly improbable it was that the single best movie of any year was a basketball doc."

Read the full feature via the link below 🏀

THIS WEEKEND - Catch the film at your local theatre and/or come on down to Garfield Park in Chicago for the court unveiling, info in link!

30 years after Hoop Dreams first premiered, the classic documentary centered on Arthur Agee and William Gates remains as relevant and powerful as ever.

09/24/2024

CHECK YOUR INBOX - the latest KTQ newsletter just dropped!

Read an exclusive interview with Pat Aufderheide about her new book Kartemquin Films: Documentaries on the Frontlines of Democracy, get details on Hoop Dreams 30th anniversary celebrations, plus DVID 2024 news!

Not yet signed up to our newsletter? Go here - https://kartemquin.org/connect/

09/21/2024

We're thrilled to invite you to the unveiling of a very special Garfield Park court refurbishment, in honor of the 30th anniversary of HOOP DREAMS!

Join the film's stars - Arthur Agee Jr and William Gates - along with a host of community orgs to celebrate community, art and basketball. There'll be a DJ, food, lots of give aways plus a skills clinic.

This is a free, family friendly event. No tickets needed, just come on down!

⌚ 1pm - 4pm
📍 Garfield Park - 100 N Central Park Ave. Chicago, 60624

Block, My Hood, My City

09/13/2024

🎬 It's Film Friday! Today's pick - WINNIE WRIGHT, AGE 11 (1974) - is inspired by a recent visit to one of our new neighbors, the Busy Beaver Button Museum, the world’s first and only pin-back button museum. A local gem, just like Winnie!

Winnie - an avid button collector -is the daughter of a steel worker and a teacher, living in Gage Park, a Chicago neighborhood that is changing from white to black.

Go to link for ways to watch the film. DM to nab yourself a KTQ Camera One pin 🎥

https://kartemquin.org/film/winnie-wright-age-11/