Kartemquin Educational Films Channel provides a home for independent documentary filmmakers to critique everyday society by producing stories of real people. Established nearly five decades ago, this collaborative, not-for-profit organization has a tradition of nurturing emerging talent and independent media.
Some of Kartemquin's more famous works, such as The Interrupters, Hoop Dreams, and The New Americans, have made a lasting impression on millions of viewers. The channel produces documentaries that are geared toward helping the public, as a whole, understand society through everyday actions. These films focus on individuals whose lives re directly affected through social and political change and yet are often pushed aside and discredited by bigger media. By telling these stories, Kartemquin films aim to initiate dialogues in the communities it covers, as well as between the public and governmental policymakers.
Because Kartemquin is also a nationally-recognized media arts organization based in Chicago, the channel is also able to act as a bridge between people and the media and develop strategies with local and national partners to foster understanding and heighten support for change.
Recent work includes Hard Earned, a six-part series that show how families get by when earning only $8 to $15 per hour, Saving Mes Aynak, which details how Afghan archaeologist Qafir Temori races to save a 5,000 archaeological site from destruction and The School Project, a film that details how a healthy public school system is necessary for a successful democracy.
