FREDERICK WISEMAN (1930-Died February 16th 2026,at 96).American filmmaker, documentarian, theater director, editor and actor. His work primarily explored American institutions.His most notable documentaries include Titicut Follies (1967), Hospital (1970), Welfare (1975), and In Jackson Heights (2015). His films were noted for their ability to possess dramatic structure despite appearing to eschew narrative devices, along with tackling social and economic issues in the United States.
Some of his other documentarian credits include High School (1968), Law and Order (1969), Model (1981), Missile (1988), Ballet (1995), State Legislature (2007), La Danse (2009), Boxing Gym (2010), National Gallery (2014), Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (2017), Monrovia, Indiana (2018), City Hall (2020), and Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros (2023). During his career, he only directed two narrative films: La Dernière Lettre (2002) and A Couple (2022). Aside from filmmaking, he also directed several stage productions and appeared in films such as in The Summer House (2018), Other People's Children (2022), Eephus (2024) and A Private Life (2025).
In 2016, Wiseman received an Academy Honorary Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2017, The New York Times called him "one of the most important and original filmmakers working today".That same year, he won the Critics' Choice Documentary Award for Best Director for directing Ex Libris: The New York Public Library. Frederick Wiseman - Wikipedia