Film Forum is a nonprofit movie theater in New York City. It began in 1970 as an alternative screening space for inependent films, with 50 folding chairs, one projector and a US$19,000 annual budget. Karen Cooper became director in 1972 and under her leadership, Film Forum moved downtown to the Vandam Theater in 1975. In 1980, Cooper led the construction of a twin cinema on Watts Street. Finally, in 1989, when the Watts Street cinema was demolished by developers, Film Forum’s current Greenwich Village cinema (on Houston Street) was built. Today, Film Forum is a 3-screen cinema open 365 days a year, with 275,000 annual admissions, 462 seats, 55 employees, 4600 members and a nearly US$4 million operating budget. Film Forum is the only autonomous nonprofit cinema in New York City and one of the few in the United States of America.