- Known For
- Directing
- Born
- January 1, 1930
- Place of Birth
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Died
- February 16, 2026
Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman (January 1, 1930 — February 16, 2026) was an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theatre director. As a documentarian, Wiseman has been noted for his ability to capture the nuances of life in American institutions such as prisons, hospitals, welfare offices, and high schools. He started out in 1963 by producing a narrative feature, The Cool World, an examination of the lives of Harlem teenagers. In the beginning, Wiseman was a staunch social reformist, and his films were calls for change. Titicut Follies, his first documentary, is an exposé of life in a prison for the criminally insane in Bridgewater, MA. It was controversial and left Wiseman with the reputation of being a muckraker. His four subsequent documentaries were all exposés of other tax-supported institutions designed to show the ineffectiveness of the bureaucracy that not only threatens to destroy them, b…
Filmography
movieDog with a Movie Camera
2026 · Thanks
movieA Private Life
2025 · Dr. Goldstein
movieJane Austen Wrecked My Life
2025 · Poète
movieEephus
2025 · Branch Moreland (voice)
movieMenus-Plaisirs, les Troisgros
2023 · Editor, Producer, Writer, Director
movieMy Sole Desire
2023 · Le client du printemps
movieA Couple
2022 · Director, Writer, Editor
movieOther People's Children
2022 · Dr. Wiseman
movieCity Hall
2020 · Director, Producer, Editor
tvThanksgiving
2019 · John
movieMonrovia, Indiana
2018 · Director, Editor, Producer, Sound
movieThe Summer House
2018 · CNC Commission member
movieEx Libris: The New York Public Library
2017 · Director, Producer, Editor, Sound
movieIn Jackson Heights
2015 · Producer, Editor, Sound Director
movieNational Gallery
2014 · Writer, Editor, Producer, Director, Sound
movieAt Berkeley
2013 · Editor, Director, Sound, Producer
Next to Last (Autumn 63)
movieNext to Last (Autumn 63)
2013 · Edward Hopper (voice)
Ain't Misbehavin
movieAin't Misbehavin
2013 · Self
Aujourd'hui
movieAujourd'hui
2012 · L'homme
movieCrazy Horse
2011 · Editor, Producer, Director
movieBoxing Gym
2010 · Director, Editor, Sound
movieLa Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet
2009 · Director, Editor, Sound Director, Writer, Producer
movieHaiku
2009 · Director
movieState Legislature
2007 · Director, Editor, Producer
movieThe Garden
2005 · Director
movieThe Last Letter
2002 · Director, Editor
movieDomestic Violence 2
2002 · Director, Editor, Producer
movieDomestic Violence
2001 · Director, Editor, Producer
movieBelfast, Maine
1999 · Director, Editor, Producer
moviePublic Housing
1997 · Director, Editor, Producer
movieLa Comédie-Française ou L'amour joué
1996 · Director, Producer, Editor
movieBallet
1995 · Director, Producer, Editor
movieHigh School II
1994 · Editor, Director
movieZoo
1993 · Sound, Editor, Producer, Director
movieAspen
1991 · Director, Editor, Producer
movieCentral Park
1990 · Director, Editor, Producer
movieNear Death
1989 · Producer, Editor, Director
movieMissile
1988 · Director, Editor, Producer
movieMulti-Handicapped
1986 · Director, Editor, Producer
movieAdjustment & Work
1986 · Director, Producer, Editor
movieDeaf
1986 · Director, Editor, Producer
movieBlind
1986 · Director, Editor, Producer
movieRacetrack
1985 · Director, Editor, Producer
movieThe Store
1983 · Director, Producer, Editor
movieSeraphita's Diary
1982 · Director
movieModel
1981 · Director, Producer, Editor
movieManoeuvre
1979 · Director, Producer, Editor
movieSinai Field Mission
1978 · Director, Editor, Producer
movieCanal Zone
1977 · Director, Editor, Producer, Writer
movieMeat
1976 · Director, Producer, Editor
movieWelfare
1975 · Editor, Producer, Director
moviePrimate
1974 · Director, Producer, Editor
movieJuvenile Court
1973 · Director, Editor, Producer
movieEssene
1972 · Director, Writer, Producer, Editor
movieBasic Training
1971 · Director, Editor, Producer, Writer
movieI Miss Sonia Henie
1971 · Director
movieHospital
1970 · Director, Editor, Producer
movieHigh School
1969 · Director, Editor, Producer, Writer
movieLaw and Order
1969 · Director, Editor, Producer, Writer
movieTiticut Follies
1967 · Director, Editor, Writer, Producer
movieThe Cool World
1964 · Producer
Danger
movieDanger
— · Peter