Gordon Quinn

Gordon Quinn

"Artistic Director and founding member of Kartemquin Films, Gordon Quinn has been making documentaries for over 40 years. Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun Times, called his first film Home For Life (1966) “an extraordinarily moving documentary.” With Home For Life, Gordon established the direction he would take for the next four decades, making cinéma vérité films that investigate and critique society by documenting the unfolding lives of real people.

"At Kartemquin, Gordon created a legacy that is an inspiration for young filmmakers and a home where they can make high-quality, social-issue documentaries. Kartemquin’s best known film, Hoop Dreams (1994), executive produced by Gordon, was released theatrically to unprecedented critical acclaim. The film follows two inner-city high school basketball players for five years as they pursue their NBA dreams. Its many honors include: the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, The Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, Chicago Film Critics Award – Best Picture, Los Angeles Film Critics Association – Best Documentary and an Academy Award Nomination...

"Recently, Gordon has been very involved as Executive Producer in a host of Kartemquin projects dealing with some of today’s most pressing social issues: Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita (the drama of scientific inquiry), In the Family (the personal and political dimension of a genetic diagnosis), At The Death House Door (following a wrongful execution), which premiered at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival, Milking The Rhino, about community based conservation in Africa, and Typeface, a film examining the role of traditional art forms in a digital age. He is currently directing a film on delayed posttraumatic stress syndrome in a childhood Holocaust survivor, Prisoner of Her Past and co-directing a film on the development of Bill T. Jones’ latest work to premiere in September 2009, inspired by Abraham Lincoln.

"Gordon has been a long-time supporter of public media, and community-based independent media groups, and served on the boards of several organizations including The National Coalition of Public Broadcast Producers, The Citizens Committee on the Media, The Chicago Public Access Corporation, The Illinois Humanities Council, The Public Square and The IL Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights."


 * Media Advisory Panel (2007), Azimuth Media
 * Advisory Committee, Center for Social Media