Kartemquin on beauty

Kartemquin Films has been getting mad press lately for The Interrupters, the story of three former Chicago gang members trying to “interrupt” the cycle of violence in the streets. I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s selling out screenings at the Siskel Film Center, where it runs through August 25. Get on downtown and catch it!* (It returns to the Film Center for an encore run in October.)
But, while I was wandering around their website I was stopped in my tracks by the trailer for a Kartemquin work-in- progress called On Beauty — about a burned-out photographer sick of the high-fashion game who turns his lens on those who don’t tend to get splashed on the cover of Vogue: People born with albinism, dwarfism, port wine stains, marfan syndrome and a host of other genetic disorders. Rick Guidotti’s been shooting their portraits for years, trying to challenge public perceptions of  “difference” and redefine notions of beauty. Check it out. It’s, well, beautiful.
*And come out for the Kartemquin benefit on Tuesday, August 23.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zOPXTusNik[/youtube]