Kartemquin Films receives MacArthur award
March 29th, 2007 by Zsofia
Kartemquin Educational Films, an award-winning Chicago-based documentary production company is among eight non-profits that have won this year’s MacArthur’s Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Kartemquin will spend the $500,000 on organisational development and on the creation of a fellowship fund for minority filmmakers.
Kartemquin’s best known documentary film, Hoop Dreams (see photo), has won every major critics prize and journalism award in 1995 and was named on over 150 “ten best” lists. The film examines the complex role basketball plays in the lives of two inner-city high school players. After garnering the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, Hoop Dreams was released theatrically by Fine Line Features and became the highest grossing documentary that year.
“In creating this award, we wanted to make a strong statement that the institutions of civil society matter,” said Jonathan Fanton, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. “These eight extraordinary organizations empower ordinary citizens to shape their own destinies, and they accelerate our collective journey toward the highest aspirations of human dignity, security, and opportunity. While they have already made a huge difference in the world, we believe that they are poised to have an even greater impact.”
Read about other recipients of the award.
