Chicago
Live Online Screening of The Interrupters
Kartemquin Films, PBS Frontline, and ITVS invite you to join the filmmakers and subjects of The Interrupters for a special live, online “social screening” of the film beginning at 5:30PM PT / 8:30PM ET. Follow this link to participate in the screening.
Watch The Interrupters Preview on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.
Participating in the screening will be the film’s producers Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz, and violence interrupter Cobe Williams. More participants are still to be confirmed.
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Interrupt Violence: New Interactive Website for The Interrupters
Filmmaker Steve James’ The Interrupters premieres on FRONTLINE Tuesday night on PBS. The ITVS-funded documentary looks at a group of men and women in Chicago — most of them former gang leaders and ex-cons — that are trying to “interrupt” shootings and protect their communities from the violence they once employed. A companion site for the film, interruptviolence.com, launched today. Kartemquin films have permitted BTB to share their post about some of the site’s features.
Today we’re launching Interrupt Violence (interruptviolence.com), Kartemquin’s first transmedia project, which will expand the journey of The Interrupters into the persistent violence that plagues American cities.
Live Chat on The Interrupters with Filmmaker Steve James
Join FRONTLINE, ITVS, and acclaimed director Steve James to discuss his latest documentary The Interrupters, which premieres Tuesday night on PBS.
Interrupter Ameena Matthews Handles Stephen Colbert
Featured in the ITVS-funded documentary The Interrupters, Ameena Matthews gave a powerful performance on Wednesday’s edition of the Colbert Report. The documentary, by acclaimed director Steve James, will premiere on PBS’s FRONTLINE on February 14.
The Colbert Report
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The film takes a look at a group of men and women — most of them former gang leaders and ex-cons — that are trying to “interrupt” shootings and protect their communities from the violence they once employed. Watch the trailer for the The Interrupters below:
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Filmmaker Steve James’ The Interrupters Hits Theaters
The Interrupters, an ITVS-funded documentary, hit theaters in New York last Friday and will play in select cities across the U.S. through September.
The acclaimed Hoop Dreams director Steve James’ latest doc, The Interrupters, takes a look at a group of men and women — most of them former gang leaders and ex-cons — that are trying to “interrupt” shootings and protect their communities from the violence they once employed.
The film opened up in NYC last Friday and will screen in select cities over the next two months. You can find a complete schedule of the film’s theatrical screenings here.
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Weaving a Rich Tapestry for The Calling
Filmmaker Danny Alpert
Filmmaker Danny Alpert sheds light on the team responsible for the upcoming PBS miniseries The Calling, which airs December 20 and 21 on Independent Lens (check local listings). On Thursday, December 9, from 5:30pm PT / 8:30pm ET join Independent Lens, WTTW, and the Art Institute of Chicago for an exclusive social media screening of The Calling on the Independent Lens Facebook fan page or on our Livestream channel before it airs on PBS.
I’ve been working on The Calling for so long that last week I went back to investigate when it was actually started. What I found made me laugh — the first concept development draft was dated December 20, 2002 — exactly eight years to the day before the broadcast date.
This has been a huge undertaking. › Continue reading
Roger Ebert Returns to Public TV
Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies will begin this January on WTTW Chicago, the same station that presented the legendary film critic’s original series, Opening Soon at a Theater Near You and Sneak Previews, alongside the late Gene Siskel.
The film critic announced his new show earlier this month and said he will be joined on-screen by a host of reviewers, including the Associated Press’s Christy Lemirer, and Elvis Mitchell of NPR. Ebert, who lost his lower jaw and speaking ability to throat cancer, plans to appear in segments on the program through a computerized voice.
Check out a preview of the show below and keep an eye out for Ebert’s trademark thumbs up for the upcoming Independent Lens program 45365, which appears at roughly four minutes into the clip.
YOUNG@HEART and a Day of Jazz at the Chicago Cultural Center
WTTW Reception for Young Musicians and Their Families
This past Saturday, Community Cinema hosted a truly one-of-a-kind event for the film YOUNG@HEART in Chicago at the Chicago Cultural Center. ITVS National Community Cinema Coordinator, Naomi Walker, shares her experience at the event.
Thanks to our wonderful partner the Jazz Institute of Chicago who teamed up with Community Cinema, WTTW Channel 11 and The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs to present a screening of YOUNG@HEART and a day of jazz greats both young and old at the Chicago Cultural Center.
The event began at 12:15 PM with a concert by Chicago Public School’s All-City Youth Jazz Ensemble. The young people showed their dedication, passion and talent and played a wide range of jazz forms. Shaunese Teamer, Manager of Community Outreach and National Publicity at WTTW, invited the young musicians and their families and friends to a reception after the concert. The Ensemble and their fans mingled with WTTW members in the beautiful rotunda at the Cultural Center. Our guest speakers all met at the reception to the delight of the jazz aficionados in the crowd. Jazz legends Fred Anderson, Mwata Bowden, and Willie Pickens have all known each other for years. Mwata and Willie have made regular appearances at Fred’s famous club, The Velvet Lounge.
L to R: Fred Anderson, WTTW's Shaunese Teamer, Mwata Bowden, ITVS' Naomi Walker, and Willie Pickens
Over 150 people braved the shopping hordes and the snow to come downtown for the free screening of YOUNG@HEART.
Shaunese Teamer welcomed the crowd and gave a hearty kudos to Independent Lens for its 10+ years of groundbreaking programming.
Audience members commented that the film inspired them to want to go
into show business and take to the stage. Here are some of their other
comments from after the event.
“I’m going to look for a local choir for my husband!”
“Made me want to join a chorus even if I can’t sing.”
“Their singing keeps them going. That gives them something to live for.”
“IT WAS SUPERB! Made our holiday great.”
L to R: Mwata Bowden, Fred Anderson, and Willie Pickens
After the film, the jazz legends came onstage and shared their stories of persistence, passion and their secrets to longevity. Jazz was in its infancy when they were starting out, so there was no one to really show them the way. Now each of them makes it a point to mentor young musicians. Willie and Mwata each spoke of the great contribution that the Velvet Lounge has made in giving jazz musicians young and old a place to experiment and continually push the envelope. Earlier this year, both Mwata and Willie participated in a star-studded tribute to Fred Anderson on his 80th birthday, where Fred’s compositions were performed by a large orchestra in Millenium Park.
Multi-instrumentalist Mwata Bowden speaks about passion.
Community Cinema Screening of D TOUR in Chicago
Over the weekend, Community Cinema screened the Independent Lens film D TOUR. The film chronicles musician Pat Spurgeon’s search for a living kidney donor and the challenges associated with finding a viable match. Find out what happened at the screening from Regional Outreach Coordinator Naomi Walker.
I met Evan Farrell, former Rogue Wave bassist, several years ago when I was visiting an old friend in Bloomington, IN. My friend played in a bluegrass combo with him (they also worked construction together to pay the bills). Evan is not someone you can forget. He was an in-your-face kind of guy with an infectious lust for life. You got the feeling that if things ever got dull, Evan would shake it up in a hurry and not allow complacency to set in anywhere he was at. That was in my previous life, back when I worked at a record label.
Having been involved in the underground arts and music scene, I am well aware of the health issues faced by struggling artists. Each month there is a benefit at some venue in town for a musician dealing with health care costs. So it was especially important to me that our post-screening discussion included not only the crucial story of organ donation, but also to pass along resources for uninsured or under-insured artists.
I found out about the work of Dr. David Hinkamp and his Health in the Arts program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. With a background in occupational health, Dr. Hinkamp cares very deeply about the health of artists, including touring musicians. He LOVED the film––and watched it three times.
Community Cinema Screening of LAKSHMI & ME in Chicago
Community Cinema hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film LAKSHMI & ME this past weekend at the Chicago Cultural Center. The film gives an intimate look at the relationship between an employer and servant in India and the ingrained social and cultural attitudes that govern their lives. Regional Outreach Coordinator Naomi Walker gives an overview of the event.
A large crowd gathers at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Speakers Anuja Mehta and Dr. Tarini Bedi discuss the Community Cinema screening of LAKSHMI & ME with Regional Outreach Coordinator Naomi Walker.
A huge crowd packed the Chicago Cultural Center to sit in a dark theater on a beautiful sunny day to watch the Community Cinema screening of LAKSHMI & ME and participate in a lively discussion. In one word: Miraculous!
Guest speakers included: Dr. Tarini Bedi, associate director of the South Asia language and area center and the committee on Southern Asian Studies at the University of Chicago; and Anuja Mehta, coordinator of transitional housing and case manager for Apna Ghar, Inc., a domestic violence shelter for Asian women.
Dr. Bedi and Ms. Mehta gave their initial impressions and thoughts about the film. Mehta went deeper by giving background information on abuse of domestic workers and gave an overview of the types of difficulties South Asian immigrants face in the United States. Many of these women have a hard time dealing with domestic violence and family members often do not come forward to get help she explained.
Dr. Bedi got many questions from audience members looking for a better understanding of the caste system, its history and the different sub-castes and class differences in India. While the issue is very complicated, Dr. Bedi cleared up some common misunderstandings about caste.
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