Program 3:30p

OFFSITE
Museum of the Moving Image

We’re delighted to co-present a special screening of Frederick Wiseman’s Ex Libris, The New York Public Library (2017) at NYPL! This event is part of our 10 day program,  Wiseman’s New York, where we invite participants into an immersive survey and set of seminars on Wiseman’s New York films alongside visits to the institutions, neighborhoods, and civic spaces they document.

Over the course of his six-decade career, the late, great filmmaker Frederick Wiseman returned to New York more than any single location. He made nine films in the city. In early works like Hospital (1969) and Welfare (1975), he addressed the plight of some of the city’s most vulnerable residents. Later films show a city in the midst of transition, including creeping gentrification in In Jackson Heights (2015) and a public library system redefining its purpose in an era of digitization in Ex Libris (2017).

Frederick Wiseman’s film, Ex Libris, The New York Public Library, goes behind the scenes of one of the greatest knowledge institutions in the world and reveals it as a place of welcome, cultural exchange and learning. With 92 locations throughout Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, the library is committed to being a resource for all the inhabitants of this multifaceted and cosmopolitan city, and beyond. The New York Public Library exemplifies the deeply rooted American belief in the individual’s right to know and be informed. It is one of the most democratic institutions in America – everyone is welcome. The Library strives to inspire learning, advance knowledge and strengthen communities.

Come through!

Program

2017, 197 MINUTES, COLOR

Bios

Genevieve Yue is an associate professor of culture and media at The New School. She is an independent programmer and the author of Girl Head: Feminism and Film Materiality (2020) and Trains, which will be available in fall 2026.