While a grad student at the University of Wisconsin in 1970, Bill Banning founded the Magic Lantern Film Society, which specialized in documentaries. In 1984, he founded Roxie Releasing, an adjunct to San Francisco's legendary Roxie Cinema, which shows more docs than any theater in the U.S. Titles Roxie Releasing has distributed include Paul Cox's Vincent: The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh, Suzanne Ofteringer's Nico Icon, Adrien and Roko Belic's Genghis Blues (Audience Award Winner, VIFF 1999) and Thomas Riedelsheimer's Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time (VIFF 2002).