The too-familiar, and oft-avoided, question asked of filmmakers at the Sundance Film Festival is "What was your budget?"

A decade ago, filmmakers loved to answer the question, if only to play the game of financial limbo - how low could you go? - and brag about how much they accomplished with so little money. Today, though, filmmakers dodge the question, because it could let potential distributors pre-set a price in negotiations.

Jason Kohn, director of the beautifully constructed documentary "Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)," had a perfect answer at the Q-and-A after Saturday's screening: "It cost me five years of my life."