The Robert Ford Collection consists of four short films made by Robert Ford while he was living in Chicago in the 1960s. Ford was a student at Northwestern University, and the collection includes a film made while he was a graduate student, “The High Up Doll,” a whimsical look at childhood desire that includes both live-action and collage animation techniques. Ford’s three subsequent films were produced with the assistance of Northwestern University and examine subjects including the Chicago Vice Lords street gang in “The Corner,” the rehabilitation of individuals with physical disabilities in “The Way Back,” and homing pigeon racing in "The Homing Pigeon."

The Tom Palazzolo Collection consists of experimental films and documentaries, their elements, and outtakes made by Chicago-based filmmaker Tom Palazzolo, once called "Chicago's filmmaker laureate" by critic Roger Ebert. Although the subjects of his films vary widely, they are all united in their humanist depiction of those living on the margins of society. Included in the collection are well-known works like Jerry's Deli (1976), featuring the explosive owner of a deli in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood and At Maxwell Street (1984), about the city's storied Maxwell Street market, as well as lesser-known films like Pigeon Lady (1966), Palazzolo's first film, and Rita on the Ropes (2001), the most recent film in the collection.