“A formalist at heart, I am drawn to the genius of Merce Cunningham — the intricacies of his mind, the approaches he invented while making his dances, and his philosophy that he followed, living his life, and re-defining ideas about being human,” director Alla Kovgan told us ahead of “Cunningham’s” world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month. A trailer just dropped for her documentary about the visionary choreographer.

The spot shows Cunningham’s groundbreaking work and offers insight into his creative process. Asked to classify his work, he says, “We don’t interpret something. We present something. We do something, and then any kind of interpretation is left up to anybody looking at it from the audience.”

“Cunningham’s dances evoke a sense of timelessness, a space in between rational and irrational, intellectual and emotional, immediate and eternal, that truly ‘renews’ us,” Kovgan observed. “Yet I never imagined working with his choreography on film because of the complexity of his choreographic structures and his infinite explorations in time and space. When I discovered 3D cinema, my views changed,” she explained. “3D offers interesting opportunities, as it articulates the relationship between the dancers and the space, awakening a kinesthetic response among the viewers. It also favors uncut choreographed shots, moving camera, and multiple layers of action in relation to the setting — everything that allows working with Cunningham’s choreography on screen in new ways.”

“Nora” and “Traces of the Trade” are among Kovgan’s previous credits.

“Cunningham” arrives in theaters December 13.