KARTEMQUIN FILMS on Al Jazeera America
Emilia Stancati, a waitress in Chicago and its suburbs is one of five stories tracked over a year in Kartemquin's six part documentary on life at the minimum wage. Now airing on Al Jazeera America.
The series began airing on May 3rd and on Sunday, May 31st, Wishbone is hosting food for a special gala for the directors, crew and subjects of the series at the Chicago Cultural Center downtown.
This is a more intimate look at what lies behind the statistics: what the challenges are of raising a family, meeting rent or a mortgage or just getting respect for the essential work being done. The stories interweave over time and capture the hopes and dramas of people you may very well know or certainly can identify with. A lot of lip service is given to various forms of "sustainablity" but relatively little to human sustainability in the workplace and community. The truth is personal and usually far away from the media cameras that roll for a flash point and then move on. The bigger story is the background to whatever "incident" triggers violence or protest. There are certainly victims in today's America, but as this series shows, there is tremendous courage and resilience in ordinary people living their lives. It's well worth making time for.
Kartemquin Films began as a collective in Hyde Park during the days of rage and has produced many award winning films and television series including Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters, The New Americans and the terrific recent documentary on the life of Roger Ebert. Their base is now only a few blocks away and we're honored to have them as "regulars." It should also be noted that in the third installment of the series, the Wishbone on Washington is featured in a segment of Emilia's story.
Please check out the Kartemquin website for showings and ways to follow up on a distinguished documentary tradition-born and bred right here in Chicago.
The series began airing on May 3rd and on Sunday, May 31st, Wishbone is hosting food for a special gala for the directors, crew and subjects of the series at the Chicago Cultural Center downtown.
This is a more intimate look at what lies behind the statistics: what the challenges are of raising a family, meeting rent or a mortgage or just getting respect for the essential work being done. The stories interweave over time and capture the hopes and dramas of people you may very well know or certainly can identify with. A lot of lip service is given to various forms of "sustainablity" but relatively little to human sustainability in the workplace and community. The truth is personal and usually far away from the media cameras that roll for a flash point and then move on. The bigger story is the background to whatever "incident" triggers violence or protest. There are certainly victims in today's America, but as this series shows, there is tremendous courage and resilience in ordinary people living their lives. It's well worth making time for.
Kartemquin Films began as a collective in Hyde Park during the days of rage and has produced many award winning films and television series including Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters, The New Americans and the terrific recent documentary on the life of Roger Ebert. Their base is now only a few blocks away and we're honored to have them as "regulars." It should also be noted that in the third installment of the series, the Wishbone on Washington is featured in a segment of Emilia's story.
Please check out the Kartemquin website for showings and ways to follow up on a distinguished documentary tradition-born and bred right here in Chicago.
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