 In 2016, Kartemquin's 50th anniversary was recognized with awards from Ashland International Film Festival; Chicago International Music and Movies Festival (CIMMfest); the Peace on Earth Film Festival; and the Chicago Latino Film Festival, and with retrospectives at Hot Docs; UCLA Film and Television Archives; the University of Chicago's Doc Films; and on Chicago's PBS Station WTTW, and with an art and equipment exhibition at the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events' Expo 72 gallery.Kartemquin Educational Films was started in 1966 by three University of Chicago graduates, Gordon Quinn, Jerry Temaner, and Stan Karter.The company was started to make politically engaged and socially charged documentary films that would use Quinn and Temaner's thesis "Cinematic Social Inquiry" as a base point.