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Among the daily noise about casting, box office, special effects, trends, awards and whatever else is dominating the conversation, the reason we go to the movies is often left undiscussed. But this exclusive trailer for the forthcoming documentary "What Is Cinema?" is sure to get you thinking about the moments that make you keep returning to the theater, eager for the lights to go down and the projector to turn on. Directed by Chuck Workman ("Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol"), this documentary/visual essay pays particular attention to filmmakers who are pushing the edges of the form and stepping past conventional boundaries. And he's rounded up a great list of participants with Mike Leigh, Jonas Mekas, David Lynch, Kelly Reichardt, Costa-Gavras and Michael Moore among those granting new interviews, alongside archival footage featuring Robert Bresson, Alfred Hitchock, Chantal Akerman and Akira Kurosawa. It should be fascinating stuff.

The 8th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is all set to run for ten days this Feb. 11-20 in Missoula, Montana. This year, the fest will have a whopping 140 film programs, a growth that necessitates an expansion from its regular home at the Historic Wilma Theatre — where it will occupy two screens — to also feature screenings at the former Pipestone Mountaineering store.

Special events at the fest include a free opening night screening of How to Die in Oregon sponsored by HBO Documentary Films. The film, directed by Peter D. Richardson, examines the impact the legalization of physician-assisted suicide has had on the state. (In 1994, Oregon was the first state to legalize the practice.)

Also, indie rock band Yo La Tengo will perform their acclaimed live score of the films of pioneering French underwater documentary film director Jean Painlevé, something they have done for other film festivals all over the world.