Established on August 7, 2003, its first release was 2004's Before Sunset, the sequel to the 1995 film Before Sunrise.

The division financed, produced, acquired and distributed feature films largely budgeted under $20 million.

[1] After a controversial departure, Gill was replaced by former Warner Bros. production executive Polly Cohen,[2] who served as president of this division until fall 2008, when the division was officially shut down.

While well versed in big-budget motion picture production, it was widely believed Cohen did not have strong enough backgrounds in independent film, or in the marketing/publicity aspects of film distribution, to hold that role.

This led to a lackluster slate and output, after a successful initial run under Gill.