Chuck Workman, whose short films and montages have been regular highlights of the Academy Awards telecasts, directs and Charles Cohen will produce What Is Cinema?.

Workman will cover cinema from the point of view of the film-maker and examine familiar films and rarer works

The director will attend Sundance to complete interviews with several leading film-makers.

Talking heads include David Lynch, Mike Leigh, avant-garde film pioneers Jonas Mekas and Yvonne Rainer, contemporary video artist Bill Viola and documentarian Michael Moore.

“Cinema is something we all grew up with and we think we know it,” said Workman. “Or we don’t think about it much; just sit down and enjoy the film. But it changes daily, and this is an attempt to chronicle where it is today and where it will be, or should be, tomorrow.”

“It’s an honour to be producing Chuck Workman’s latest project,” said Cohen Media Group chairman and CEO Cohen.

“He is a highly respected filmmaker, whose knowledge of film runs very deep. I am greatly looking forward to seeing how he puts it all together in this singular, exciting work.”