Karen Cooper: Film Forum Director Extraordinaire
Karen Cooper spent fifty-one years involved with the Film Forum, leading its growth from a one- projector screening space on the Upper West Side to its iconic four-screen institution on West Houston Street.

In late, 2024, we released an oral history with Karen. Highlights of the interview include her memories of each of Film Forum’s distinct locations, discussions of the intersections between her personal, political, and intellectual interests and her programming choices and reflections on the changing arts landscape in New York City.
Village Preservation · Karen Cooper Oral History
Under her leadership, the scope of international and documentary film programming at Film Forum greatly expanded. According to their website, Film Forum began in 1970 as an alternative screening space for independent films, with 50 folding chairs, one projector and a $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. In 1990, Film Forum’s current Houston Street cinema was built at a cost of $3.2 million. In 2018, Film Forum raised $5 million to renovate and expand its Houston Street cinema, upgrading the seating, legroom, and sightlines in all theaters and adding a new, 4th screen. In 2023, Cooper stepped down as Director and was succeeded by Deputy Director Sonya Chung.

This oral history joins our rich collection, including interviews with some of the great artists, activists, business owners, community leaders, and preservation pioneers of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. Our oral histories capture and preserve valuable first-person perspectives on important events and movements which have shaped our neighborhoods, city, nation, and world. Click here to access them all.
Click here to access Karen Cooper’s oral history including full audio and transcript.