As Canyon grew during the 1960s to include a distribution office and nationwide newsletter, its exhibition program came to focus on experimental film and appeared at new venues around the Bay Area.

[2][3] The film department at San Francisco Art Institute had a theater built in 1969, which became the primary venue for Cinematheque screenings for several decades.

[2] Canyon Cinema obtained nonprofit status in California but was denied by the federal government because its distribution program made a profit for its members.

The organization expanded its scope with its first video art programs in 1984 and Cinematograph, a journal edited by local artists, the following year.

[2] San Francisco Cinematheque exhibits artist-made cinema with around 35 screenings each year in the Bay Area.