"[1] The organization was founded in 1994 by Michael Colford and was named after his and his boyfriend Trent's two cats Chloe and Gertrudis.

According to the society's by-laws, to be eligible for an award, "a film cannot have been released on more than 1,000 screens nationally during its first four weeks.

Films that only play festivals or are released direct to DVD are not eligible.

[citation needed] They are given out in a ceremony usually held at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

[1] Special guests at past ceremonies have included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Agnès Godard, Elliot Page, Genevieve Bujold, Maury Chaykin, and Paprika Steen.