FACETS was founded in 1975 by Milos Stehlik, a Czech-born film critic, educator, and fierce advocate for independent cinema. In an era before home video, streaming, or widespread repertory exhibition, it was difficult to access international and independent cinema in the United States. We helped fix this problem by bringing films from around the world to Chicago audiences who otherwise may never have encountered them.

Milos believed cinema was far more than entertainment. For him, film was a way of understanding the world — a communal experience built around curiosity, discussion, and reflection. That philosophy shaped our identity from the earliest days and continues to define us today. Roger Ebert later described FACETS as “a temple of great cinema,” recognizing the seriousness and care with which we approached film culture.

Before finding our permanent home on Fullerton Avenue, our earliest screenings took place in bookstores, church halls, and makeshift spaces across Chicago’s North Side. Films were projected onto temporary screens with borrowed equipment and limited resources, but the atmosphere was electric. Audiences gathered not simply to watch movies, but to encounter new ideas, political perspectives, and artistic traditions from around the world.

These early years established the spirit that would define FACETS for decades: operating outside traditional structures, championing overlooked films, and creating spaces where cinema could be experienced collectively. Milos later recalled screening silent films, Czech cinema, and political documentaries to audiences packed into church pews and community spaces, building a grassroots film culture through passion and persistence.

As home video emerged in the 1980s, we expanded access to cinema beyond the theater through our videotheque, mail-order rental catalog, VHS and DVD distribution, and the famed FACETS Catalog. Long before streaming platforms existed, FACETS became a lifeline for cinephiles searching for difficult-to-find international, independent, and experimental films, with a collection that eventually grew to tens of thousands of titles.

Alongside our VHS and DVD distribution, we published a massive multi-volume catalog and a series of video guides – including the GAY AND LESBIAN VIDEO GUIDE (2005), AFRICAN AMERICAN VIDEO GUIDE (2005), and NON-VIOLENT, NON-SEXIST CHILDREN’S VIDEO GUIDE (2005) – helping audiences discover film through a more inclusive and socially conscious lens.

Through these efforts, we introduced generations of viewers to filmmakers such as Krzysztof Kieślowski, Dušan Makavejev, and Béla Tarr. When we released THE DECALOGUE (1989-1990), it was the first time North American audiences could watch the groundbreaking Polish series at home. When we released SÁTÁNTANGÓ (1994), Susan Sontag (one of the ultimate 1960s intellectual “it-girls”) requested a private screening. This work became legendary not only as an archive of cinema history, but as an extension of our belief that transformative film experiences should remain accessible to anyone willing to seek them out.

FACETS became known not only for the films we screened, but for the filmmakers we brought directly into conversation with Chicago audiences. Under Milos Stehlik’s leadership, we hosted retrospectives, masterclasses, workshops, and appearances by some of the most important figures in world cinema, including Werner Herzog, Béla Tarr, Claude Chabrol, Robert Altman, Bill Forsyth, Alain Tanner, and Dušan Makavejev.

One of our most enduring artistic relationships was with Werner Herzog, whom Milos championed for decades. Herzog returned to FACETS in 2019 for a special masterclass fundraiser that became Milos’s final major public appearance before his passing. We also introduced Chicago audiences to the work of Béla Tarr and other Eastern European filmmakers long before their films were widely available in the United States. These programs transformed FACETS into more than a cinema — they created a space where artists and audiences could meet in genuine dialogue.

That tradition continues today through conversations with contemporary filmmakers and artists pushing cinema into new territory. Recent guests and collaborators have included Lilly Wachowski for CHICAGO ON SCREEN, Stephen Sayadian for OPTICAL NOISE, and partnerships with Henry Hanson, Alterotics, and many more. Like the retrospectives and masterclasses that defined FACETS in earlier decades, these programs continue our commitment to creating a home for adventurous cinema, artistic discovery, and meaningful dialogue between filmmakers and audiences.

In 1983, we launched the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, a groundbreaking initiative that would grow into the oldest and largest children’s film festival in North America and the first Oscar-qualifying festival of its kind in the world. The Festival was built on a simple but radical belief: children deserve intelligent, challenging cinema and opportunities to think critically about media.

From the beginning, we approached youth film programming as education rather than passive entertainment. Festival screenings included discussions, workshops, and media literacy initiatives designed to encourage curiosity, creativity, and active viewing. Over the decades, these efforts expanded into FACETS Film Camps, year-round youth education programs, and FAMILY SUNDAYS — our intergenerational screening series that combines films with hands-on creative activities and “no shhh-zone” experiences designed specifically for young audiences and first-time moviegoers. Together, these programs teach young people not only how to watch films, but how to make them, question them, and engage with them creatively.

In recent years, FACETS has entered a new era defined by artistic reinvention, collaborative leadership, and renewed community engagement. Building on its long history as a home for independent and international cinema, the organization has evolved from a primarily top-down curatorial model into a collective, series-based programming structure shaped by programmers, critics, filmmakers, educators, and artists working in dialogue with one another. This shift has expanded the range of voices and perspectives represented at FACETS while deepening its role as a cultural hub for Chicago’s film community.

Under Executive Director Karen Cardarelli’s leadership, FACETS successfully navigated a period of enormous cultural and technological change, including the COVID-19 pandemic, while strengthening operations, expanding partnerships, and reimagining how audiences gather around film. Attendance quadrupled during this period as FACETS embraced interactive, conversation-driven programming and community-centered experiences. New series such as COLD SWEAT, OPTICAL NOISE, ANIME CLUB, MUST-WATCH INDIES, CHICAGO ON SCREEN, and ESSENTIALS reflect this evolving vision — blending repertory cinema, emerging filmmakers, live events, experimental media, and audience participation into a more dynamic model of exhibition.