Interweaving the British filmaker's interview and film clips with a wide array of supplementary material - Super-8 recordings and news footage from the 1970s and 80s - Derek sets the filmmaker's life in the context of the circumstances in which he lived - providing illuminating insight into Jarman's oeuvre and his life.

Initial appearances, however, might be deceiving. The film begins with actress Tilda Swinton's (right) voiceover about Jarman's life - a recital of how his aesthetics and social concerns ran against the profit-first blockbuster culture of contemporary commercial cinema.

As Swinton's lines gradually fade Julien's aim becomes clear: rather than being a requiem to his lost friend, Julien's Derek looks at Jarman's life (childhood with his father, a decorated soldier, and his life in California and London during the swinging 60s) through the history of independent filmmaking and gay society in modern Britain - an approach Julien used in his first feature film Looking for Langston, in which Langston Hughes' work is used as a jumping-off point for tackling the development of African-American culture.

At the centre of Derek is an account of Jarman's critique of the conservative, neo-liberal values which defined Britain under Margaret Thatcher during the 80s: the way Sebastiane and The Garden lash out at homophobia, and how Jubilee - a milestone look at punk culture - and The Last of England examine what Jarman perceived as the meltdown of British society during that decade - with the rise of right-wing nationalism (Jubilee features characters not unlike National Front skinheads) and emphasis on the individual rather than the collective society.

With deft use of material of various formats which span across Jarman's whole life (starting with family home movies featuring the director as a boy, and ending with black-and-white interview footage shot shortly before his death), Julien's documentary is far from a one-note piece.

Combined with his ability to make a point without being polemical - a proven skill as seen in his 1995 documentary-drama on Martiniquan political theorist and activist Frantz Fanon - Derek provides an insightful, thoughtful and human portrait of one of the most important British filmmakers in recent times.

The extras: An introduction by McCabe about the genesis of this film - his interview in 1991, filmed by Bernard Rose (Candyman), which came out of his concerns about Jarman's failing health (the filmmaker on the edge of death just one year previously).

An extended, hour-long version of the interview is then included as a bonus feature.

The verdict: A testament not just to the avant-garde film genre, but to Jarman's legacy as a British filmaker in general, Derek provides a wealth of information and emotions.