Frederick Wiseman: America at Work
October 18, 2025–February 19, 2026
With the federal government slashing staff and reneging on promised funding to local governments and grant-supported institutions, this series spotlights the labor of public employees through seven decades of documentary films from Frederick Wiseman, “an artist of extraordinary vision” (Mark Binelli, New York Times).
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Frederick Wiseman: City Hall, 2020
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Frederick Wiseman: Juvenile Court, 1973
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Frederick Wiseman: Ex Libris: The New York Public Library, 2017
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Frederick Wiseman: Blind, 1986
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Frederick Wiseman: The Store, 1983
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Frederick Wiseman: Welfare, 1975
- Upcoming
Films - Past
Films - Past
Events
Upcoming Films
City Hall
Frederick Wiseman
United States, 2020Saturday, November 22, 12:30 PMView DetailsFrederick Wiseman’s study of process, policy, and public service in Boston’s city government is a “typically sprawling, inquisitive and inclusive anatomy of the city’s inner workings . . . both sober and inspiring” (Guy Lodge, Variety).
The Store
Frederick Wiseman
United States, 19834K Digital Restoration
Saturday, December 6, 4 PMIntroduced by Arlin GoldenView DetailsFrederick Wiseman’s first color documentary is a study of conspicuous Christmastime consumption at the Neiman Marcus flagship location and corporate headquarters in Dallas.
Central Park
Frederick Wiseman
United States, 19904K Digital Restoration
Saturday, December 13, 3 PMView DetailsFrederick Wiseman filmed Central Park during a period of revitalization of the revered public institution. “Maybe his greatest work . . . a microcosm of how a city as huge and diverse as this manages to function” (Matt Prigge, Village Voice).
Welfare
Frederick Wiseman
United States, 19754K Digital Restoration
Thursday, January 15, 7 PMView DetailsFrederick Wiseman’s ongoing study of bureaucracy takes on epic proportions in Welfare, giving subtle structure to the chaos of stories in a New York City welfare center. “Wiseman’s probing, empathetic closeups reflect the clamor and the complexity of the city at large” (Richard Brody, New Yorker).
Blind
Frederick Wiseman
United States, 19864K Digital Restoration
Sunday, January 18, 4 PMView DetailsIn the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, Frederick Wiseman found both rich subject matter and an opportunity to provide deeper, reflexive consideration of the use of image and sound in his process. “A deeply moving experience—one containing more joy than heartbreak” (Terry Atkinson, Los Angeles Times).
Model
Frederick Wiseman
United States, 19804K Digital Restoration
Wednesday, February 11, 7 PMView DetailsModel captures the inner workings of Zoli, a New York fashion modeling agency, and the labor of the statuesque men and women represented there.
Meat
Frederick Wiseman
United States, 19764K Digital Restoration
Thursday, February 19, 7 PMView DetailsCapturing a pivotal moment in the history of animal agriculture, Meat tracks the transformation of animals into consumer commodities through a revolutionary, scalable assembly-line process that dramatically increased the world’s appetite for beef.
Past Films
Ex Libris: The New York Public Library
Frederick Wiseman
United States, 2017Saturday, October 18 3 PMView DetailsFrederick Wiseman’s documentary provides welcome confirmation of the survival of intelligent life in discouraging times, following the work behind and beyond the books at the New York Public Library.
Law and Order
Frederick Wiseman
United States, 19694K Digital Restoration
Thursday, October 23 7 PMView DetailsFrederick Wiseman’s third film chronicles the wide variety of duties performed by the Kansas City Police Department, for better or worse. “Law and Order speaks volumes about America both then and now” (Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter).
Missile
Frederick Wiseman
United States, 19874K Digital Restoration
Sunday, October 26 1:30 PMIntroduced by Arlin GoldenView DetailsFrederick Wiseman tracks the day-to-day routines of the recruits and officers who are trained to arm, target, and launch nuclear warheads. Missile “presents quiet horrors and ironies galore” (Terry Atkinson, Los Angeles Times).
State Legislature
Frederick Wiseman
United States, 20074K Digital Restoration
Saturday, November 1 1:30 PMIntroduced by Greg HahnView DetailsIn State Legislature, the members of the Idaho State Legislature are forced to legislate—or, at least, debate—in the face of a rapidly changing world. “This is democracy in action from the ground up, wholly unheroic and absolutely mesmerizing” (Manohla Dargis, New York Times).
Juvenile Court
Frederick Wiseman
United States, 19734K Digital Restoration
Sunday, November 9 7 PMIntroduced by Judge Trina L. ThompsonView DetailsJuvenile Court finds troubled youth and their families confronted by the American justice system in Memphis, Tennessee. It is Frederick Wiseman’s first film to eclipse a two-hour run time, “but its cumulative impact is so powerful that it seems less than half that long” (Image).