©Photo by Nobuhiro Hosoki

Frederick Wiseman, the legendary documentarian who made pioneering portraits of social institutions for over fifty years, has passed away at the age of 96. His family and Zipporah Films, Inc. announced the news.

The concept of nonfiction cinema before and after Frederick Wiseman remains undiminished in the news, as confirmed by his own Zipporah Films, that the artist behind—let’s mention only a fraction of it. “Titticut Follies“, “High School”, “The Store“, “Welfare“, “Central Park“, and “Belfast“, “Maine“, among others, who have also won accolades in “Berkeley“, “City Hall“, “National Gallery“, “Ex Libris“, and “Monrovia, Indiana“, has passed away at 96 years old.

Wiseman’s filmography ended with 2023’s Menus-Plaisirs, which featured Troisgros. Shortly thereafter, he expressed a somewhat ambiguous doubt—based on work requirements and age limitations— about continuing, a prophecy that was unfortunately realized.

Throughout the years, Wiseman’s formalism remained consistent: He never used narration, title cards, commentary, or any other method of spoon-feeding context to his audience. His films were hardly clinical or cold, although he avoided making his presence felt to any obvious degree and focused his camera on collective work instead of individuals in private.

Consistently, he found a way to create a compelling dramatic structure, with transitions between scenes and sequences that showcase the art of cinematic storytelling in a concise way.