Frederick Wiseman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frederick Wiseman
Wiseman in June 2005
Born	(1930-01-01) January 1, 1930 (age 95) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma mater	Williams College (B.A., 1951) Yale Law School (LL.B., 1954)
Occupation	director, producer
Years active	1963-present
Spouse(s)	Zipporah Batshaw ​ ​ (m. 1955; her death 2021)​
Children	2

Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930) is an American filmmaker and theater director. He is famous for making documentaries that explore different parts of American society. In 2017, The New York Times newspaper called him "one of the most important and original filmmakers working today."

Early Life and Education

Frederick Wiseman was born in Boston on January 1, 1930. He went to Williams College and earned a degree in 1951. Later, he studied law at Yale Law School and finished in 1954.

After college, he served in the U.S. Army for two years. Then, he lived in Paris, France, before coming back to the United States. He taught law for a while before starting his career in documentary filmmaking. He has won many awards for his films.

Filmmaking Career

Wiseman's first movie was The Cool World in 1963, where he was the producer. In 1967, he produced and directed Titicut Follies. Since then, he has produced and directed all his films.

His movies often look closely at social places like hospitals, high schools, or police stations. All his films have been shown on PBS, which is a major supporter of his work.

Filming Style and "Reality Fictions"

Many people describe Wiseman's films as "observational." This means he films real life as it happens, without adding interviews or narration. His style comes from something called direct cinema.

However, Wiseman doesn't like the term "observational cinema." He says that he carefully edits his films to create a dramatic story. He calls his films "Reality Fictions" because even though they show real events, he chooses what to show and how to put it together, which makes it like creating a story.

Wiseman's Approach to Filmmaking

Wiseman at Kansas State University in 1971

Frederick Wiseman believes his films show his own experiences and feelings, not just a perfectly fair picture of what he films. He says that every film has a point of view because the filmmaker makes many choices.

He explains that even though he films real, unscripted actions, the way he shoots and edits is very important. For example, he might film 110 hours of material but only use 4 hours in the final movie. These choices make the film unique.

Wiseman feels it's important to be honest with the people who appear in his films. He tries to make sure the film truly shows what he felt was happening during the original events. He believes his films are "biased, prejudiced, condensed, compressed but fair."

How Wiseman Makes His Films

Wiseman usually spends about four to six weeks filming in the places he wants to show. He does very little planning beforehand. Most of his time is spent editing the footage to find a good flow for the movie.

His films always have a dramatic structure, but they don't usually have a clear beginning, middle, and end like a regular story. There are no main characters you are meant to cheer for. Instead, the drama comes from the everyday situations shown in each scene. Wiseman believes drama is key for his films to feel like real movies.

No Narration or Interviews

A special part of Wiseman's style is that he never uses a narrator to explain things. He also doesn't do interviews with the people in his films. He feels that adding his own thoughts or showing the filmmaking process would make the films less about the subject.

Wiseman often collects over 100 hours of raw video. His skill in making interesting, full-length films without narration or interviews, while still being fair, is why he is seen as a master of documentary filmmaking.

Filmography

Film Credits

Theatre Work

Besides his famous films, Wiseman has also directed plays in the U.S. and France.

• Emily Dickinson, La Belle d’Amherst (The Belle of Amherst) by William Luce. Le Théâtre Noir, Paris, Director, May–July 2012
• Oh les beaux jours by Samuel Beckett. La Comédie Française, Paris. Director, November – January 2006; Director & Actor, Jan–March 2007.
• The Last Letter adapted from the novel Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman
  • Theatre for a New Audience, New York. Director, December 2003
  • North American Tour with La Comédie Française production (Ottawa/Toronto, Canada; Cambridge/Springfield, MA; New York, NY; Chicago, IL) Director, May–June 2001
  • La Comédie Française, Paris. Director, March–April 2000, September–November 2000
• Welfare: The Opera, story by Frederick Wiseman and David Slavitt, libretto by David Slavitt, music by Lenny Pickett.
  • St. Anne's Center for Restoration and the Arts, New York. Director, May 1997
  • American Music Theater Festival, Philadelphia. Director, June 1992
  • American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge. Director, May 1988
• Hate by Joshua Goldstein. American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge. Director, January 1991
• Tonight We Improvise by Luigi Pirandello. American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge. Director of video sequences and actor in role of documentary filmmaker, November 1986 – February 1987

Awards and Recognition

Frederick Wiseman has received many important awards for his work:

• In 2003, he won the Dan David Prize.
• In 2006, he received the George Polk Career Award for his contributions to journalism.
• In 2014, he was given the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.
• In 2016, Wiseman received an Academy Honorary Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is a very special Oscar.

See also

In Spanish: Frederick Wiseman para niños