The organization was founded in 1966 by Gordon Quinn, Jerry Temaner and Stan Karter, three University of Chicago graduates who wanted to make documentary films guided by their principle of "Cinematic Social Inquiry". They were soon joined by Jerry Blumenthal, who remained an integral part of the organization until he died on November 13, 2014. Gordon Quinn remained Executive Director through late 2008 when he transitioned to Artistic Director, and Justine Nagan was named Executive Director. In 2015, Betsy Steinberg, former managing director of the Illinois Film Office, was named the new Executive Director until 2018. In 2019, Jolene Pinder was named Executive Director. Pinder left the organization in 2020.