The feature doc
and the Chicago-based
production house
earn huge
accolades from
the prestigious
organization
Bing Liu’s feature documentary Minding the Gap and Chicago production house Kartemquin Films earned major recognition from the Peabody Awards yesterday.
Minding the Gap was listed among eight winners in the Documentary category for programs released in 2018. Kartemquin, which produced Minding the Gap, was selected as winner of an Institutional Award “for its commitment to unflinching documentary filmmaking.”
The honors were granted by the Peabody’s 18-member Board of Jurors, which includes television critics, television producers, university professors, news anchors, and media executives. The 78th Annual Peabody Awards Ceremony takes place on Saturday, May 18 in New York City.
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Minding the Gap
Minding the Gap is a “gut-wrenching look at the relationship between skater culture, race, masculinity, domestic violence, and child abuse,” that was filmed over a five-year period, according to Reel Chicago writer Joey Filer.
Featured prominently in the film are Nina Bowgren and three Rockford, IL skaters — Zack Mulligan, Keire Johnson, and Bing Liu himself.
ALSO READ: Bing Liu on the making of “Minding the Gap”
MINDING THE GAP TRAILER
In addition to winning a Peabody Award, Minding the Gap earned an Academy Award nomination in the Feature Documentary category and won the Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
Minding the Gap is streamable on Hulu and continues to play in theaters and festivals around the world. Find a full list of screenings here.
“Through a patient, observational lens and devastating interviews, filmmaker Bing Liu lays bare the pain and eventual hope he and his skateboarding friends endure despite the challenges they face in this heartfelt presentation of the transition from boyhood to manhood.”
The Peabody Awards
Kartemquin Films
The Peabody Board of Jurors also honored Chicago production house Kartemquin Films with an Institutional Award.
In an official statement praising Kartemquin’s finesse for “telling an American history rooted in social justice and the stories of the marginalized,” the board described the nonprofit organization as “a home for filmmakers to develop their craft and produce films that promote dialogue and democracy.”
Kartemquin’s efforts to nurture emerging talent include Diverse Voices in Docs (DVID), a professional mentorship program for Midwestern documentary filmmakers of color. The DVID program’s alumnae include Bing Liu.
While referring to itself as “a collaborative community that empowers documentary makers who create stories that foster a more engaged and just society,” Kartemquin declares that it has been “sparking democracy through documentary since 1966.”
The organization has earned three Academy Award nominations, six Emmys, and four Peabody Awards.
Besides Minding the Gap, its venerable canon includes director Maria Finitzo’s Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita and director Steve James’ Hoop Dreams and Abacus: Small Enough to Jail.
About The Peabody Awards
The Peabody Awards were founded with an inspiration to be a “Pulitzer Prize for Radio” by the National Association of Broadcasters in 1938. Since then, they have become one of the most prestigious honors in a wide range of electronic media. Its current, 18-member Board of Jurors includes television critics, television producers, university professors, news anchors, and media executives.
