Two new documentaries about cinema, centred on the work of US directors Peter Bogdanovich and Arthur Penn, have been added to the Venice Classics strand of the 71st Venice International Film Festival (Aug 27 - Sept 6).

One Day Since Yesterday: Peter Bogdanovich & The Lost American Film by Bill Teck reconstructs the grim story of Peter Bogdanovich film They All Laughed, presented at the Venice Film Festival in 1981.

Bogdanovich’s film was caught up in a series of distribution problems only to be rediscoveredby directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach.

The new documentary is also the story of Bogdanovich’s love for the late actress Dorothy Stratten, the star of They All Laughed, who was killed by her ex-husband in a fit of jealousy while the director was editing the film. It also examines Bogdanovich’s career and his most famous works, from The Last Picture Show and What’s Up, Doc? to Paper Moon.

The documentary marks the debut of Latin-American director Teck, who spent 20 years in TV and advertsing.

Bogdanovich new film, She’s Funny That Way, will be presented out of competition at Venice.

Mise en scène with Arthur Penn (a conversation) is a documentary-interview that pays tribute to US director Arthur Penn. Directed by Iranian filmmaker Amir Naderi, the film has been in the works since 2005.

Penn, who died in 2010, directed the likes of The Left Handed Gun (1958), Mickey One (1965), Bonnie and Clyde  (1967), Alice’s Restaurant (1969), Little Big Man (1970), Night Moves (1975) and The Missouri Breaks (1976).

Naderi, who left Iran in the late 1980s, has presented his US films at Venice, Cannes, Tribeca and Sundance with titles including Vegas: Based on a True Story (2008), which screened in competition in Venice.

His followed that with Cut, shot on location in Japan, which was the opening film of the Orizzonti section in 2011. In 2012 he was a member of the Orizzonti jury.