Program 6:00p
Sep 5, 2026 at 6:00 pm
Model — Wiseman’s New York
With Genevieve Yue
OFFSITE
Metrograph
7 Ludlow St
NY 10002
We’re delighted to present a special screening of Frederick Wiseman’s Model (1980)! 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).
Model (1980) shows male and female models at work on TV commercials, fashion shows, magazine covers, and advertising for a variety of products, including designer collections, fur coats, sports clothes and automobiles. The models are seen at work with photographers whose techniques illustrate different styles of fashion and product photography. The business aspect of running an agency is also shown: interviewing prospective models, career counseling, arranging portfolios, talking with clients, and planning trips. The film presents a view of the intersections of fashion, business, advertising, photography, television and fantasy.
Come through!
Program
Model
1980, 129 MINUTES, B&W
Watch the conversation between Presenter1, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub.
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.
From the Event
