Last modified on Wed 10 Mar 2021 06.53 EST
Documentaries about film-making used to fall into one of two categories. Either they were studio-approved puff pieces, typically found among DVD extras, or stranger-than-fiction accounts (Hearts of Darkness, Burden of Dreams, Lost in La Mancha) of productions spinning out of control: more breaking of than making of.
Today there is a middle ground where fans take care of the celebratory side, and movies don’t need to have suffered a painful birth to be worthy of attention. This new crop has been made possible by cheaper technology, as well as crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. The rise of streaming platforms and the decline of physical media, which is where such films previously found a natural home, hasn’t hurt, either.