From the times its screens were first illuminated in 1970 as an alternative space for independent films, with 50 folding chairs, one projector and a $19,000 annual budget, the iconic Manhattan movie theater Film Forum has continued to be one of the country’s premiere venues for independent film. After becoming director in 1972, Karen Cooper oversaw the theater’s several moves before the current Houston Street location opened in 1990. In 2018, Film Forum renovated and expanded the Houston Street cinema, upgrading the seating, legroom and sightlines in all theaters and adding a new, 4th screen. In this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI, Film Forum director Karen Cooper and programmer Mike Maggiore discuss five decades of presenting cinema from around the world.