DOC CHICAGO is a project of Percolator Films, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit media arts organization that produces and presents documentaries that challenge, intrigue, engage, and inspire –  in short, films that provoke thought and discussion. Percolator Films was founded by filmmakers Kathy Berger and Ines Sommer in 2008. Programs have included Evanston's Talking Pictures Festival, the long-running Reeltime documentary and discussion series, fiscal sponsorship services, and more.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
THANK YOU to Chicago Filmmakers and their supportive staff for collaborating on the DOC CHICAGO conference;  Amber Love and Brent Huffman for their programming contributions; Jeff Spitz, John Otterbacher, Ruth Leitman, Laura Gomez-Mesquita, and Anu Rana for their suggestions; Northwestern University's MFA in Documentary Media program for sponsoring the refreshments for our social hour!

Much gratitude to all the panelists and filmmakers who are participating in DOC CHICAGO!

The idea for DOC CHICAGO was partially informed by a “State of the Doc: Midwest” survey of regional documentary filmmakers that we conducted last summer. Career sustainability in the Midwest was an overriding concern expressed in the survey, while the idea for a conference resonated with many of the respondents as a positive step towards strengthening our regional documentary community.                                                                 – Ines Sommer, DOC CHICAGO