But others are not so quick to call Cambridge a mecca for all American documentary filmmakers. Labelling Cambridge the 'non-fiction film capital of the world' might be "a bit excessive, says Richard Lewis, a producer at Chedd-Angier, a public television production company based in Watertown. He describes the city's importance in more moderate terms, suggesting that "the nonfiction film capital of [Route] 128" might be a more appropriate moniker for the city.

BEYOND CAMBRIDGE'S character, however, are more specific explanations for the high concentration of writers, directors and producers of both personal and documentary films.

Many area filmmakers appreciate the abundance of work opportunities in Cambridge-- opportunities which some say do not exist in New York or Los Angeles.

"There's quite a bit more documentary film making here than in New York," says Schwartz. "And quantum degrees more than in L.A."

"I think it's certainly better here than in New York or L.A.," agrees Lewis. "There's just more work here." And, he adds, "If you're in L.A., its sort of embarrassing to go in and say you're a documentary filmmaker."

"This is Boston's little niche," he says. "No features are internally generated. There's nothing except us documentary types."

Many producers mention the proximity of WGBH, a major public television broadcasting company in Allston. WGBH provided a lot of work for free-lance filmmakers in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, says Schwartz. Independent filmmakers following the "pattern," he says, would work as freelancers at WGBH, leave to pursue their own projects, and them return to the company. Much of the freelancing "pool" at WGBH was made up of Cantabrigians, he says.

"[WGBH] provides work for a lot of us," says Robert Whittlesey, a co-partner in the Allston-based Documentary Guild. "They help support filmmakers in town."

In fact, Chedd-Angier was formed by the former science editor and the former executive producer of "Nova," produced by WGBH.

The company continues to work closely with WGBH, according to Lewis. They are currently working on a series co-produced with WGBH and the BBC, "The Secret of Life," as well as various "Nova" programs.

ANOTHER INFLUENCE which helped established Cambridge as a filmmaking center was an "old guard" of filmmakers, said Schwartz. During the 1950s, 60s and 70s, "the old boys' club of cinema verite and anthropological filmmakers" made forms of documentaries which tried to be as realistic as possible, often even acknowledging the presence of the filmmaker, he says. This group included Gardner, who used to be an anthropologist, John Marshall, and Ricky Leacock.

Stein, too, says that a "school of film makers" influenced the Boston-Cambridge area. Leacock and Ed Pinkus, both at MIT, "taught a lot of people who sub sequently taught at Harvard."

Though some speak of a "community" of filmmakers today, Whittlesey says that the group is actually not that cohesive. "Most of the people I know tend to be very independent of each other," he says. "Most don't need or rely on people other than their own staff. Everybody kind of does their own thing."

CAMBRIDGE'S COLLEGES and universities also help make it a filmmaker's paradise, many producers say.

Cambridge is "a tremendous research community that you wouldn't have any were else," says Lewis. The proximity of Harvard and MIT makes his job easier, he says. "We don't have to fly anywhere. You just jump in a van, and you've got your Nobel Prize winner," he says. "That's a huge advantage in science film makings."