Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America.

Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the composite eyes of early film actresses Theda Bara, Pola Negri, and Mae Murray, set as repeated frames in a strip of film.

Foreign films are screened for free throughout the city weekly from July through September.

[2] Winners of the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award include Steven Spielberg, Helen Hunt, Dustin Hoffman, Martin Landau, Shirley MacLaine, Lord Richard Attenborough, François Truffaut, Jodie Foster, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Williams, Manoel de Oliveira, and Clint Eastwood.

Winners and runners-up for the various categories, which include Gold and Silver Hugos, are listed on the film festival website.