Each year, the Windy City Times highlights 30 individuals under the age of 30 that are thriving in "LGBTQIA activism, business, culture, non-profit work and more." With its 15th Annual Awards, this Chicago publication honored one of our stars, Kasey, for her incredible advocacy efforts.

AFI Docs and Human Rights Watch Film Festival allowed our team and our audience to look at homelessness first, as a policy issue, and second, as a human rights issue.

We are thrilled that AFI Docs will host the US premiere for The Homestretch in Washington D.C. today, June 19. The film will have its NYC premiere as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival tomorrow, June 20th. This is a big weekend for us! 

We are proud to announce that The Homestretch was one of 8 documentaries to receive impact funding from the Bertha BRITDOC Connect Fund. This European based outreach and engagement fund supports “smart, strategic outreach campaigns for ambitious independent documentary films with a social issue at their core.”

Kirsten Kelly and Anne de Mare spoke at Northwestern University for Inspire Media's Spring Symposium.  With the Symposium topic, “Making Media Matter” Kirsten Kelly and Anne de Mare talked about the process of creating The Homestretch and planning their outreach and impact strategy.

“[Anne and Kirsten] tackle the issue so beautifully. The universality of the film makes it so much more possible to engage and connect with the causes of youth homelessness.”  

After The Homestretch’s world premiere and roaring success at Hot Docs (“One of the best films to ever be made about the stigma of homelessness” –Andrew Parker, Dork Shelf) the film’s presence at AFI Docs and the Human Rights Watch Film Festival will continue what is poised to be widespread festival run. 

On February 28, 2014 we launched an ambitious Kickstarter campaign. 30 days, 309 backers, and $35,115 later, we find ourselves blown away by the incredible support that came flooding in. We exceeded our goal ($26,250), and our expectations.

Attendees of the Housing First Partners Conference were treated to a sneak peek of Kartemquin's new film The Homestretch yesterday. The audience was filled with experts working to end homelessness through the many facets of Housing First. All three of the young people featured in the film - Kasey, Anthony, and Roque – were in attendance and took questions from the audience. View photos of the event here. The audience response to their presence was incredible.

After four years of intense work, The Homestretch is finally nearing completion. As they get ready to release the film, co-directors/producers Anne de Mare and Kirsten Kelly are simultaneously launching the first steps of a major audience engagement strategy for their film about homeless teens in Chicago: please help them do it!