It was Tuesday, March 1, 1988. The Kronos Quartet was on its inaugural Australian tour, and from that first live experience of their unique energy and vision, I became a fan. Over the years, new releases and concert tours were eagerly anticipated, and with them came memories – a live performance of Jimi Hendrix’ Purple Haze that fizzed and pulsated with manic, hyperactive ecstasy; the release of George Crumb’s astonishing Black Angels on disc; and the necessary, sad anger of the ACT-UP era distilled in Bob Ostertag’s All the Rage; not to mention all the extraordinary collaborations with composers from around the globe that continue to this day.

Given this long association, the prospect of a “live documentary” with this ground-breaking group seemed very attractive: the opportunity to learn all sorts of cool stuff about the group awakened in me the eager 20-something present at that concert all those years ago.

A Thousand Thoughts. Photograph © Waleed Shah

Enter Sam Green, the New York-based documentary filmmaker. Working with Kronos and delving into the quartet’s substantial archive, Green and fellow filmmaker, Joe Bini, have put together an experience that is part documentary, part lecture, part...