[3] The Museum of the Moving Image is focused on art, history, technique and technology of film, television, and digital media.

These ongoing series include "Changing the Picture," "Fist & Sword," "New Adventures in Nonfiction," "Science on Screen," and "Disreputable Cinema."

[10] Following seven years of work, and at a cost of $15 million, the American Museum of the Moving Image opened on September 10, 1988, in the former East Coast home of Paramount Pictures[11] as the first museum in the United States that was devoted solely to the art, history and technology of film, television and video.

While the museum remained open during most of the construction period, with its old theater demolished and the new ones yet to be built, screenings series and other events were held off site, although the collection was still available to scholars.

Beginning in 2011, the museum began hosting the First Look Film Festival, which has since gained acclaim for hosting innovative new international cinema and introducing New York audiences to formally inventive works that seek to redefine the art form of cinema while engaging in a wide range of subjects and styles.

[17] In July 2024, the museum held "100 Years of Parajanov" programming, supported by Armenian Film Society.