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It’s worth mourning the films we’ll never get to see: the unfunded epics, the unmarketable art films, perhaps even the unengaging streaming product. Filmmaker Charlie Shackleton faced that grief when his thoroughly researched project, a documentary on the Zodiac killer case, got the plug pulled after years in development. But the director’s vision was simply too comprehensive for the project to go unrealized. In the comically plainly titled “Zodiac Killer Project,” Shackleton explains how his film would’ve unfolded, speaking in a consolation-prize confessional.

The candid narrator, who is also a published film critic, emerges with more than just his regrets. The doc is also a playful evaluation of the true-crime content bubble and the genre’s full capitulation to copycatting itself.

Though Shackleton’s feature can’t legally cite its source material as the 2012 book “The Zodiac Killer Cover-up: The Silent Badge,” it is all but an official adaptation.

Protests can take many forms, and the reason for the outcry is often more important than the organization of the protest. Paint Drying is a 10-hour film created by Charlie Shackleton as a protest against the British Board of Film Classification's practices. Paint Drying highlights the issues surrounding censorship and the cost that independent creators must endure to have their films reviewed and released in the UK.

Protests come in all shapes and forms and could encompass any argument. The reason for the outcry, either way, is typically more important than how the disapproval is organized. Then again, sometimes, the way an objection is presented is too riveting to cast aside. This is the case when discussing an obscure film meant to get under the skin of those in charge of Britain's rating system, especially since there's a possible form of ingrained censorship that goes into how the country screens and releases its films.

Not all pranks are created equal. Like all truly great jokes, this one had a clear purpose. Whether it had a deserving victim is a tougher question to answer.

It all started back in 2015 when British filmmaker Charlie Shackleton launched a Kickstarter page to promote his project, Paint Drying. Not long after, it was sent to the censors for the mandatory age-restriction labeling, and the real fun began. Paint Drying premiered in 2016, with a run time of just over 10 hours, consisting of nothing but white paint drying on a wall. And you thought Titanic overstayed its welcome. Savor the trailer here.

This particular art film is clever and important, not for the final product, but for shining a light on the process behind filmmaking, an aspect that we take for granted, a facet that every movie-maker is painfully aware of. The difference between an R and a PG-13 rating is tens of millions of dollars.

British director Charlie Lyne has provoked a debate in the UK about censorship and the inner workings of the BBFC with his film/provocation, Paint Drying.

Paint Drying fully lives up to its title. Around 10 hours long, this experimental epic was crowd funded. Its length was determined by the amount of money Lyne raised (£5,936 before Kickstarter took its fee).

The director wanted the public to know that the British Board Of Film Classification (BBFC) charges per minute for each movie it rates. Indie filmmakers have to pay the same as big Us studio movies.

“Unlike, say, the Us ratings board which has a sliding scale cost system based on budget, the BBFC charges the same to Disney as it would to you or I,” said Lyne.

The movie was shot in 4K digital video and originally lasted 13 hours. Lyne edited it down to a trim 607 minutes - and this is the version that two BBFC examiners sat through...