On Saturday Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz picked up the Best Documentary Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards for The Interrupters. Watch their acceptance speech. more ›

If you haven't seen The Interrupters yet, do so immediately. Bonus: One of the film's stars will be there. more ›

The Interrupters gets its highest accolade yet. more ›

The Steve James-directed, Alex Kotlowitz-produced film has become the highest grossing film in the history of the Gene Siskel Film Center. more ›

Alex Kotlowitz speaks about his years looking into the city's most vexing problems, the differences between writing and making movies, the neighborhoods President Obama's message of hope and change never seem to impact, and more. more ›

The story of a year in the life of three "violence interrupters" as they step into confrontations at the moment they are about to turn into violent altercations in Chicago's toughest neighborhoods, the film's thoughtful and jarringly intimate look at a new approach to dealing with the persistent violence has struck a chord with audiences everywhere it's been shown, and we expect this will shortly be the movie everybody's talking about here. We sat down with Steve James, who is also known for other documentaries such as Stevie and features such as Prefontaine in addition to the legendary Hoop Dreams, at the offices of Kartemquin Films on the north side last week. Our interview with Kotlowitz will run separately. more ›

Producer Steve James and Reporter Alex Kotlowitz put together "The Interrupters," a documentary about CeaseFire and "violence interrupters" who try to put a stop to the violence plaguing their South Side Chicago communities. The film hasn't been released yet, but this trailer has us waiting with bated breath. more ›

Let's start with a tough question: Who is Chicago's greatest filmmaker? When it comes to experimental film some might advocate for James Fotopoulos, whose output is both prodigious and relentlessly probing. When it comes to documentaries, Steve James is more than formidable. And on the narrative end of things although neither Andrew Davis nor John Landis quite make the grade, they've both had their moments. We would argue that the title should go to Tom... more ›

Chicago’s cinematic history is being preserved in all sorts of ways this week. Steve James’s Hoop Dreams, the story of two Chicago high school basketball players, is now part of the National Film Registry, a list of films that have “cultural, historical or aesthetic significance.” Every year, the Library of Congress adds twenty-five films to its National Film Registry from a list of films nominated by the public (click here to send your recommendations for... more ›

Within fifteen minutes of talking to any Oak Parker, you're guaranteed to hear the phrase, "Oak Park isn't like most places." But one month from today, Oak Park will take a shaky step towards the mainstream by opening its first establishment to serve primarily alcoholic drinks, The Abbey at 728 Lake St. Until now, only restaurants that served food could serve alcohol. more ›

Steve James. more ›

With all the planes flying just overhead, Chicagoist has deduced that either we're being attacked (orange alert! ...er, red alert?) or it's Air and Water Show weekend. Thankfully, it's the latter. Well, "thankfully" in that there will be tons of people in Chicagoist's neighborhood over the next few days and parking will be a mess. We need to escape from Old Town, fast, and Doc Films fortunately has a solution. This Saturday they'll be playing Hoop Dreams, a quintessential Chicago film. We call it quintessential because this classic documentary provides a touching, in-depth portrait of our city's low-income residents and public school system. And besides all of the personal drama in the lives of its subjects, there's plenty of good basketball. more ›