Filming Filmmakers

More than mere biographical portraits, this series gathers cinematic nonfiction films about some of our greatest filmmakers—directed by some of our greatest filmmakers. The films span the spectacular—from Les Blank watching Werner Herzog drag a ship over a mountain and Chris Marker capturing Akira Kurosawa burning down a castle—to the quotidian, as Claire Denis observes Jacques Rivette people-watching on the Metro, and the challenges of production, as St. Claire Bourne witnesses the struggles of making Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. Others are more self-examining, with Chantal Akerman and Jean-Luc Godard turning the camera on themselves. Sometimes, what’s behind the camera is actually where the money shot is.