Documentary Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman Talks about the State of the Art

Media contact: Noelle Lemoine, communications assistant; tele: (413) 597-4277; email: [email protected]

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., April 2, 2003 — In “Film: Composing an Epic,” Phillip Lopate wrote in The New York Times, “Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, John Cassavetes, Woody Allen, Robert Altman, all have their partisans. But if the criteria includes the most masterpieces, or the highest sustained level of accomplishment, maybe we should be talking about Frederick Wiseman… as the greatest American filmmaker of the last 30 years.” Wiseman is a 1951 graduate of Williams.

On Monday, April 14, Wiseman will deliver a talk, “Documentary Films Today: The State of the Art” at 8 p.m. in Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall.

Since 1967, when “Titicut Follies,” Wiseman’s portrait of a state prison for the criminally insane, made its debut, he has directed 33 provocative, complex, and illuminating documentaries, on the average of one a year.

His films are shot without narration, allowing the subject matter to speak for itself. All of his films examine contemporary American life and have been featured on prime-time television and in film festivals around the world.

Wiseman’s latest film, “Domestic Violence 2,” is part of a two part series tackling a subject that seems to create public uneasiness whenever breached. Following on his first “Domestic Violence,” it builds a powerful story from a collection of perspectives on domestic violence, which issaid to affect one in three women in America today.

The first film follows police on routine calls from arguing couples, from victims of battery, and from parents concerned about the escalating tensions in their homes. The film then steps inside a large domestic violence shelter in Florida to scrutinize therapy sessions, victims’ and witnesses’ accounts, and even daily life in a shelter.

“Domestic Violence 2” leaves the shelter and enters the courtroom to probe how the state handles domestic violence, and in the process, how government attempts to remedy this societal malady.

“Mr. Wiseman’s relaxed detachment is integral to the way the stories unfold,” wrote Elvis Mitchell in The New York Times. “Ten minutes into the film you’ll be white-knuckled and unable to look away.”

Wiseman’s first film, “Titicut Follies,” has become legendary as a result of the controversy that surrounded its opening. The film documented “life” at the Bridgewater State Hospital in Massachusetts. First released in 1967, it was declared obscene by the Massachusetts Supreme Court and banned until 1993.

Wiseman is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and winner of a MacArthur Prize Fellowship, a Guggenheim Award, The Irene Diamond Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Human Rights Watch, and three Emmy Awards.

Preceding the evening, five of Wiseman’s films will be screened: “Titicut Follies,” “High School,” “Public Hearing,” “Model,” and “Domestic Violence 2.” The schedule is: Tuesday, April 8 – “Titicut Follies” in Bronfman Auditorium at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 9 – “High School” in Bronfman Auditorium at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 10 “Public Hearing” in Bronfman Auditorium, part 1 at 4 p.m. and part 2 at 7 p.m., Friday, April 11 – “Model” in Griffin Hall, room 7, and Sunday, April 13 – “Domestic Violence 2” at Images Cinema at 3 p.m. All are free and open to the community.

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Published April 2, 2003