As anyone who's made her simple, perfect tomato, butter and onion sauce can attest, cookbook author Marcella Hazan was a genius. And, like all geniuses, she deserves to have her story told.

New York City filmmaker Peter Miller has been working on a documentary about Hazan's extraordinary life for the past few years. Now he's taken to Kickstarter to raise funds to complete the project.

"My wife and I have been cooking from Marcella Hazan's cookbooks for as long as we can remember," Miller says in a video promoting the Kickstarter. "She's a spiritual presence in our kitchen, reminding us to embrace good ingredients, generational knowledge and Italian soulfulness."

Hazan was born in 1924 in Cesenatico, Italy, and eventually moved to the United States with her husband, Victor. In 1999, the couple moved to Longboat Key, where Victor still lives. Marcella died in 2013.

Half of the film has been shot, including interviews with New York Times reporter Kim Severson, Saveur founding editor Dorothy Kalins, French chef and cookbook author Jacques Pépin and others. Miller is hoping to raise $40,000 through Kickstarter. As of Friday, more than $9,000 has already been pledged.