Arriving on all VOD platforms this week is a small movie with a big heart and an incredible story. “Burt,” by writer/director Joe Burke, sports a debut film performance from a 69-year-old Los Angeles musician, Burt Berger, in a film built around his unique persona and story.

Even more remarkable is how Burke got “Burt” made: in just seven days for $7,000. This long-gestating idea had been in the back of Burke’s mind since meeting Berger while he was playing music at the restaurant in Malibu, but when Berger was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Burke decided it was now or never and marshaled all of his limited resources to make the indie feature.

The result is a charming black-and-white film about a son, played by Burke’s longtime friend and collaborator Oliver Cooper, meeting his long-lost father (Berger), and the twists and turns that come with reconciliation. In a world where “independent” cinema can sport huge budgets and massive stars, “Burt” espouses the true indie spirit that was the promise of the digital revolution in the 1990s.

Rent or buy “Burt” today on iTunes or Amazon — a portion of the proceeds from the first month will be donated to PCLA, a Parkinson’s organization in Los Angeles.

If you’re interested in seeing how filmmakers can do more with less, exploring the world of micro-budget filmmaking is fascinating, and a great way to see where some of the most popular filmmakers got their start. The Criterion Channel even has an entire curated collection of micro-budget features available right now, of 29 films that were made for $150,000 or less (still far more than the “Burt” budget).

The collection includes David Lynch’s “Eraserhead” (made for $10,000 in 1977), Melvin Van Peebles’ “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” Richard Linklater’s “Slacker” ($23,000 in 1990), Gus Van Sant’s “Mala Noche” and Jim Jarmusch’s “Stranger Than Paradise.” Even “The Odyssey” director Christopher Nolan started with a tiny budget. His 1998 debut “Following” cost just $4,000, and is included in this Criterion Channel roundup.

The selection also includes Barbara Loden’s “Wanda,” a truly revelatory low-budget crime film that the actress directed in 1970, in which she starred. She never made another film, tragically passing away from breast cancer in 1980. Be sure to check out “Wanda” while perusing this collection.

Another $7,000 film is Robert Rodriguez’s directorial debut “El Mariachi,” which he made in 1992 in just 14 days. The film went on to storm the Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award, launching Rodriguez’s career. Rent "El Mariachi" on all digital platforms.

Around the same time, Kevin Smith was making his black-and-white feature debut “Clerks,” about a group of convenience store employees, with a budget of $27,000. The film premiered at the Sundance in 1994, and similarly launched Smith’s career, and the characters of Jay and Silent Bob. Stream “Clerks” on Paramount+ or Kanopy.

A micro-budget film also launched the found-footage horror phenomenon. In 1999, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez’s “The Blair Witch Project” changed how we think of horror, and movie marketing, with the horror feature made for just $22,500. Stream it on HBO Max.

It’s these kinds of innovations, made with little to no money, that truly evolve filmmaking (like the phenomenon that is “Obsession” this summer). Look to the micro-budget filmmakers, it’s where you’ll find the new talents and fresh ideas, made outside of the system, that push things forward.

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