"An Independent Portrait" is a richly conceived documentary about filmmaker Robert M. Young, directed in Pittsburgh by Spanish native Jose Muniain.

But more than that it's an exploration of spirit. The hour-long film is set within the occasion of Young having his portrait painted by Felix de la Concha, also Spanish-born.

Rather than producing an exhaustive biographical compilation of dates and achievements, director Muniain searched for what motivates and guides Young's creativity -- and by extension de la Concha's and, one suspects, his own. The result is a compelling psychological portrait constructed through clips from Young's films and reflective conversations between painter and filmmaker.

But mostly this interior is revealed through the eyes of the painter as he burrows past Young's surface to his soul; through the filmmaker's own blue ponds, relentlessly seeking even when still; and through a third unseen pair, that of the director, whose poetic vision frames this inquiry.

The title suggests the depths probed and possible, with multiple readings of independent -- a classification each of these somewhat renegade artists has earned -- and portrait implied. It's a complexity worthy of its subject matter.

Mary Thomas Pittsburgh Post-Gazette