This conversation explores the cinema approaches and thinking of film directors Agnes Varda and Susan Sontag, who were among the small group of artists represented in the prestigious seventh annual New York Film Festival (1969). Here they discuss their ideas and their films with Jack Kroll, senior editor at Newsweek magazine. Excerpts from both their films (Varda's Lions' love, and Sontag's Duet for cannibals) illustrate the conversation.

Robert, a middle-aged gay man, begins a personal documentary project following his long history of failed relationships. As a professional but emotionally vulnerable individual, Robert decides to interview six of his ex-boyfriends, each of whom represents a distinct chapter in his love life. His ultimate goal is to find out why these relationships ended and to use the documentary as a means of personal growth—or so he believes. With the support of his sister Deborah, Robert prepares for the emotionally challenging task ahead.

“My paintings are not about what is seen. 　　They are about what is known forever in the mind.” 　　– Agnes Martin 　　“'‘I’m very careful not to have ideas, because they’re inaccurate,’ the artist Agnes Martin says in Mary Lance’s touching documentary about her, but it’s a lie. Ms. Martin was full of ideas, and she dispenses them engagingly in the course of the film… She talks about her early childhood on the plains of Saskatchewan. And by the end of the film, Ms. Lance has gently led you to connect that comment with Ms. Martin’s signature style of work: broad horizontal bands of subtle hues Her remembrances of her years in New York and New Mexico are lovely to hear, as are her bits of philosophy.” 　　– Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times