Between the Folds

Between the Folds is a 2008 PBS documentary about the art of origami and paper folding. It is one of the most celebrated and watched films on the subject in the past few decades.

Directed by Vanessa Gould and broadcast on Independent Lens, the film received a Peabody Award in 2010.¹

This is THAT one origami documentary that anyone online with any interest in the crafts has stumbled across at some point (It is also on Netflix in some regions). It helped that this film was well-regarded when it was released, but it has taken on a life of its own in waves on the internet over the decades.

I think it’s a good introduction to the intricacies of origami and various aspects of it presented for the lay person, and for those who have a passing familiarity with paper folding without ever having delved into its depths.

What I like is that this documentary presents origami both as an art and craft and also as a scientific and theoretical curiosity. There is much material since which tries to reignite the facination in the scientific and practical uses of orgiami folding, but I’m glad Between The Folds doesn’t forget that all of it is based around a community of passionate crafts people and artists just playing around and enjoying the process.

Between The Folds on Independent Lens – Documentary Info

The documentary is the story of modern-day paper folders. A theoretical mathematician, an intrepid scientist, and eight other artists who transform two dimensions into three are featured. In our modern, technological world lost in technology and gleaming screens, what is the fascination with a square piece of paper? And what can we learn from it?