An immersive tour of the city with the ultimate observer
Across this singular 10 day mini-lab, we invite participants to finally get around to watching the precise and generously observed body of work from Frederick Wiseman. This is an invitation to study New York City through the lens of one of documentary’s most formidable and dedicated figures. A comprehensive survey awaits intrepid and committed participants, alongside invitations to visit the institutions, neighborhoods, and civic spaces they document.
We are bringing top scholars, experts and disciples to expand on his work, to act as your guides, and to aid a thorough examination of not only what Wiseman filmed but how and why he developed his singular approach. The city becomes a living classroom for thinking about observation, civic engagement, and documentary practice.
Public screenings of his nine New York films will take place at cinemas across the city, offering the chance to experience this monumental body of work on the big screen. The films are indeed lengthy and disciplined—as is characteristic of Wiseman’s practice—but always thrilling once you are there and richly textured reflections of our society. When else will you have the chance to commit to seeing these films on screen with a supportive, discursive community at some of the city’s finest cinematic institutions? Join us today and engage with observing and understanding New York City with Wiseman as your guide.
Frederick Wiseman & New York
Over the course of his six-decade career, the late, great master documentarian Frederick Wiseman returned to New York more than any single location. He made nine films in the city. In early works like Hospital (1970) 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).
All of the films feature a cast of characters that can only be described as incredibly New York: Spanish Harlem high schoolers, Belmont racehorse jockeys, a mescaline-addled art student, beleaguered councilperson staffers, and unexpected cameos from Francis Ford Coppola, Richard Dawkins, and Andy Warhol. New York is a city like no other, and Wiseman was uniquely adept at capturing its diversity, its struggles, and its spirit.
Whether you’re a visitor from out-of-town eager to experience New York from Wiseman’s perspective, or a New Yorker looking to see your city through a new civic lens, this is a singular opportunity to sit with a legend to understand the magnetism of this city and why he kept returning.
Meet your guides
Esteemed film scholar, independent programmer, and Associate Professor of Culture and Media at The New School, Genevieve Yue leads this immersive exploration of Frederick Wiseman’s New York. Yue recently authored Public Domains for Film Comment—a deeply researched essay that offers a fresh critical perspective on Wiseman’s work and helped inspire this offering.
Throughout the lab, lead facilitator Genevieve Yue will be joined by filmmakers, critics, artists, and community members whose work is in conversation with Wiseman’s films from a range of perspectives.
Shawn Glinis
Shawn Glinis is a film writer from Detroit and co-host of the definitive and comprehensive Wiseman Podcast, an in-depth film-by-film exploration of Wiseman’s documentaries.
Arlin Golden
Arlin Golden is a documentary filmworker in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is co-director of Video Project, as well as director and programmer of Drunken Film Fest Oakland. He also co-hosted Wiseman Podcast, a film by film series engaging with the documentaries of Frederick Wiseman.
K. Austin Collins
Critic, programmer and New Yorker crossword mastermind K. Austin Collins is the author of an upcoming book-length essay on Wiseman’s Domestic Violence as a part of Fireflies’ Decadent series.
Nellie Kluz
Filmmaker and scholar Nellie Kluz whose work both creative and pedagogical is continually influenced and motivated by Frederick Wiseman’s methods.
Mariana Mogilevich
Mariana Mogilevich is editor in chief of Urban Omnibus. A writer and historian of architecture and urbanism, she is the author of The Invention of Public Space: Designing for Inclusion in LIndsay’s New York (2020).
André Robert Lee
André Robert Lee was roped into assisting Wiseman while working for the eponymous high school of High School II, and subsequently built a documentary practice on the foundations of this experience.
Courtney Stephens
Acclaimed filmmaker Courtney Stephens’ creative interest in research and chance echoes Wiseman’s own methods.
Thanks to Program Partners!
FULL PASS — $395
Receive a full series pass for all 10 films, seminars, panels and engagements programmed for the workshop.
WEEK 1 PASS — $250
You will receive an all-inclusive access pass to attend all of the first week’s sessions, screenings and seminars from Sept. 3-6.
WEEK 2 Pass — $250
You will receive an all-inclusive access pass to attend all of the first week’s sessions, screenings and seminars from Sept. 9-13.
I decided to visit the Roosevelt Avenue Mall, where, a decade ago as documented by In Jackson Heights, a group of commercial tenants were organizing against gentrification... I was relieved to find the mall still there, if not entirely thriving; many storefronts were empty, but there was a shoe repair shop, an employment agency, and an aquarium store. Someone was getting a tattoo on his thigh. “Life doesn’t come in this neat little package where there is an ultimate triumph or failure,” Wiseman once said. “Most of life just keeps going on and that’s what I’m trying to show.”
— Public Domains, Film Comment, Genevieve Yue
Full Schedule
Wednesday Sep 2
6:30P — ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES
Opening night screening of Welfare (1975)
Thursday Sep 3
2:30P — UnionDocs
Seminar on Welfare
6:30P — UnionDocs
Opening Panel: New York in Transition
8:30P — UnionDocs
Screening of Hospital (1970)
Friday Sep 4
2:30P — UnionDocs
Seminar on Hospital
6:30P — Low Cinema
Screening of High School II (1994)
Saturday Sep 5
2:30P — UnionDocs
Seminar on High School II
6:30P —UnionDocs
Screening of Model (1980)
Sunday Sep 6
2:30P — Field Trip to the UES
Central Park, Metropolitan Hospital Center, Central Park East High School
8:00P — SPECIAL LOCATION TBA
Screening of Central Park (1990)
WEEK 2
Tuesday Sep 8
4:00P — UnionDocs
Seminar: Central Park
7:00P — Spectacle Theater
Wiseman Roulette: A Special Presentation @ Spectacle!
Wednesday Sep 9
2:30P — UnionDocs
Seminar: Performance in the City
8:30P — UnionDocs
Screening of Ballet (1995)
Thursday Sep 10
2:30P — Field Trip to the City
Garment District, American Ballet Theatre, New York Public Library Picture Room
7:30P — Maysles Cinema
Screening of In Jackson Heights (2015)
Friday Sep 11
2:30P — UnionDocs
Field Trip to Jackson Heights with Make the Road
7:30P — UnionDocs
Screening of Racetrack (1985)
Saturday Sep 12
2:30P — UnionDocs
Seminar on Racetrack
7:00P — Museum of the Moving Image
Screening of Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
Sunday Sep 13
1:00P — UnionDocs
Seminar on In Jackson Heights & Ex Libris
4:00P — UnionDocs
Closing Panel: Public vs. Private
Final Happy Hour
Welfare (1975)
WELFARE shows the nature and complexity of the welfare system in sequences illustrating the staggering diversity of problems that constitute welfare: housing, unemployment, divorce, medical and psychiatric problems, abandoned and abused children, and the elderly. These issues are presented in a context where welfare workers as well as clients struggle to cope with and interpret the laws and regulations that govern their work and life.
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.
Arlin Golden is a documentary filmworker in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is co-director of Video Project, an impact-oriented non-profit distributor of documentary films, as well as director and programmer of Drunken Film Fest Oakland, an annual free event bringing world-class films into the democratized social spaces of local bars. He also co-hosted Wiseman Podcast, a film by film series engaging with the documentaries of Frederick Wiseman. His first short documentary as director, Back Yard, screened in 2020-21 at such fests as Ann Arbor, Sheffield DocFest, and the inaugural Prismatic Ground, and his follow-up Balloon Boy garnered worldwide distribution and was named a Vimeo Staff Pick.
Shawn Glinis is a film writer from Detroit and was the co-host of Wiseman Podcast, an in-depth film-by-film series engaging with the documentaries of Frederick Wiseman.
WEDNESDAY Sep 2
6:30 PM Opening Night Screening — Anthology Film Archives
With Genevieve Yue
THURSDAY Sep 3
2:30 PM Seminar on Welfare — UnionDocs
With Arlin Golden, Shawn Glinis and Genevieve Yue
Hospital (1970)
HOSPITAL shows the daily activities of a large urban hospital with the emphasis on the emergency ward and outpatient clinics. The cases depicted illustrate how medical expertise, availability of resources, organizational considerations, and the nature of communication among the staff and patients affect the delivery of appropriate health care.
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.
Nellie Kluz makes nonfiction films about collective rituals and the infrastructures that support them. She also works as a cinematographer and camera operator for others’ projects. Her films have screened at venues including Visions du Réel, Chicago Underground Film Festival, European Media Art Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Maryland Film Festival, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, the UnionDocs Center for Documentary Art, and others. She received an MFA in Moving Image from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 Faces of Independent Film” for 2017. She has taught filmmaking at the California Institute of the Arts and at the University of Iowa.
THURSDAY Sep 3
8:30 PM Screening — UnionDocs
FRIDAY Sep 4
2:30 PM Seminar on Hospital — UnionDocs
With Nellie Kluz and Genevieve Yue
High School II (1994)
HIGH SCHOOL II is a film about Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS), a successful alternative high school in New York’s Spanish Harlem, 85-95% of whose graduates go on to four year colleges. The film illustrates the school’s emphasis on the “Habits of Mind” program (weighing evidence; awareness of multiple points of view; seeing connections and relationships; speculating on possibilities; and assessing values.) Sequences illustrating the school’s approach to learning include: classroom activities in the humanities and sciences; family conferences; discussions of race, class, and gender; faculty meetings; disciplinary problems; sex education; conflict resolution by students; and student council meetings.
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.
André Robert Lee is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, educator, and Peabody Award-winning producer whose work explores art, identity, history, and community. His films have premiered on PBS, CNN, HBO Max, and at Sundance, reaching audiences across the country through screenings, workshops, and public conversations. Recent projects include the feature documentary This Too Is Healthcare: Bridging the Gaps and the Academy Award–qualifying short documentary Freeman Vines, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. André is currently co-directing In the Time of Trees, a feature documentary about the life, work, and enduring legacy of acclaimed sculptor Thaddeus Mosley. Through his company, Many Things Productions, he creates films that illuminate overlooked stories, celebrate creative lives, and invite audiences into deeper conversations about who we are and how we connect with one another.
FRIDAY Sep 4
6:30 PM Screening of High School II (1994) — Low Cinema
SATURDAY Sep 5
2:30PM Seminar on High School II (1994) — UnionDocs
With André Robert Lee and Genevieve Yue
Model (1980)
MODEL 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.
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.
SATURDAY Sep 5
7:00 PM Screening of Model (1980) —UnionDocs
WEDNESDAY Sep 9
2:30PM Seminar on Model — UnionDocs
With Genevieve Yue
Central Park (1989)
CENTRAL PARK is a film about the famous New York City landmark and the variety of ways in which people make use of it: running, boating, walking, skating, music, theatre, sports, picnics, parades and concerts. The film also illustrates the complex problems the New York City Parks Department deals with in order to maintain and preserve the park and keep it open and accessible to the public.
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.
SUNDAY Sep 6
8:00PM Screening of Central Park (1989) — Central Park
SUNDAY Sep 6
2:30PM Field Trip to UES — Central Park, Metropolitan Hospital Center, Central Park East High School
With Genevieve Yue
WEDNESDAY Sep 9
2:30PM Seminar on Central Park — UnionDocs
With Genevieve Yue
Ballet (1995)
BALLET is a profile of the American Ballet Theatre, an important classical ballet company. The film presents the company in rehearsal in their New York studio and on tour in Athens and Copenhagen. Choreographers, ballet masters and mistresses are shown at work with principal dancers, soloists and the corps de ballet. Other sequences involve the administration and fundraising aspects of the company.
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.
WEDNESDAY Sep 9
8:30PM Screening of Ballet (1995) — UnionDocs
WEDNESDAY Sep 9
2:30PM Seminar on Ballet (1995) — UnionDocs
Racetrack (1985)
RACETRACK is about the Belmont Race Track, one of the world’s leading race tracks for thoroughbred racing. The film highlights the training, maintaining and racing of thoroughbred horses. Everyday occurrences are shown: in the backstretch — the grooming, feeding, shoeing, and caring for horses and the preparation for races; at the practice track the various aspects of training, exercising, and timing the horses; at the paddock — the pre-race presentation of the horses; and in the grandstand — betting and watching the races. The film also has sequences showing the variety of work done by trainers, jockeys, jockey agents, grooms, hot walkers, stable hands, and veterinarians.
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.
Courtney Stephens is a writer/director. Her work has explored historical geographies, the public unconscious, and the texture of women’s lives. The American Sector, her documentary (co-directed with Pacho Velez) about fragments of the Berlin Wall transplanted to the US, was named one of the best films of 2021 in The New Yorker. Her essay film, Terra Femme, comprised of amateur travel footage shot by women in the early-twentiethcentury, premiered at The Museum of Modern Art, and has toured internationally. Invention, a work of experimental fiction, recently premiered at the Locarno Film Festival. Her films have been exhibited at The National Gallery of Art, The Barbican, The Royal Geographical Society, Walker Art Center, the Thailand Biennale, and in film festivals including the Berlinale, Viennale, IDFA, Hong Kong, SXSW, and the New York Film Festival. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship, and fellowships from MacDowell, Yaddo, and the Wexner Center.
THURSDAY Sep 10
8:30PM Screening of Racetrack (1985) — UnionDocs
FRIDAY Sep 11
8:30PM Seminar on Racetrack — UnionDocs
With Genevieve Yue & Courtney Stephens
In Jackson Heights (2015)
Frederick Wiseman’s 40th documentary IN JACKSON HEIGHTS is about the racially and ethnically diverse neighborhood of Jackson Heights in Queens, New York. IN JACKSON HEIGHTS won the 2015 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Non-Fiction Film.
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.
FRIDAY Sep 11
6:30PM Screening of In Jackson Heights (2015) — UnionDocs
SATURDAY Sep 12
Field Trip to Jackson Heights
With Genevieve Yue
SATURDAY Sep 12
Field Trip to Jackson Heights
With Genevieve Yue
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.
Public Dialogues
New York In Transition — Opening Panel
Frederick Wiseman returned to New York and its environs over the entirety of his career, from 1970’s Hospital to 2017’s Ex Libris. This panel considers the draw the city had for Wiseman and the way he tracked its dramatic changes over a span of nearly fifty decades.
With Genevieve Yue, Arlin Golden, Shawn Glinis & John Wilson
Public Vs. Private — Closing Panel
The nonfiction films of Frederick Wiseman are often understood to be institutional studies, but within those spaces the distinctions between the private and public spheres, as well as their interactions, have been less examined. This group of scholars and critics explores the dynamics of public and private funding, partnership, and exhibition practices that subtly and also indelibly shaped Wiseman’s New York-based works.
With Genevieve Yue, Kameron Austin Collins & Mariana Mogilevich.
Do I need to sign up for the whole two weeks?
Not at all. You don’t have to attend the full program, but in order to attend the seminars and field trips, participants can choose either a one-week or full-series passes. The program is meant to be social and immersive. With the purchase of a pass we are asking attendees to participate in all scheduled sessions for the duration of their pass.
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Can I just attend screenings?
Absolutely. Screenings and panels will be open to the public for single event ticketholders, but seminars, panels and field trips are available only to registered participants.
Can I join just one session?
The only one off sessions we’re inviting folks to join are the public screenings and dialogues. We’re encouraging folks to join us in a deep dive to survey a larger selection of Wiseman’s work in the city. Hope you can join us!
