In 1973 a group of experimental filmmakers formed an artist-run weekly screening series in response to the lack of an exhibition space to show their own work and the work of other new and emerging filmmakers. This Saturday night screening program, started under the auspices of N.A.M.E. Gallery, was called Filmgroup at N.A.M.E. In 1976, Filmgroup separated from the gallery and incorporated as Chicago Filmmakers. Filmgroup was retained as the informal name for the exhibition program until 1994, when it was renamed Kino-Eye Cinema. The exhibition program is now one of the longest-running showcases in the country for American and foreign independent film and video. Meanwhile, Chicago Filmmakers has evolved into more than a venue for screening films; it is now a diverse media arts center with programs in adult and youth education, equipment access and membership services, film distribution, and community outreach, as well as film and video exhibition.

Chicago Filmmakers is a 35 year-old media arts organization that fosters the creation, appreciation and understanding of film and video as media for artistic and personal expression, as well as media of important social and community impact. Our mission is to provide an opportunity for artists to make films outside the mainstream marketplace, to distribute and exhibit this work, as well as to build audiences and to increase media attention for it. Recognizing the impact of mass media in contemporary society, it is additionally our goal to provide culturally diverse audiences with alternative images to those reflected in mainstream media and to broaden access to media education to include those typically left out of the process.