2 - 22 January 2026
Born in 1930, Frederick Wiseman has spent more than half a century documenting the structures, contradictions and rituals of modern life. From his debut Titicut Follies (1967), a stark look inside a Massachusetts prison for the criminally insane, to more recent, expansive portraits of cultural institutions like the New York Public Library (Ex Libris, 2017) and the Opéra de Paris (La Danse, 2009), Wiseman has created a body of work unmatched in its patience, precision and ethical complexity.
Neither overtly polemical nor emotionally manipulative, Wiseman’s films sit in the granular realities of institutions — schools, hospitals, welfare offices, ballet companies, boxing gyms — through an observational style that defies narration, his approach is simple: a small crew, a sharp eye, and an instinct for rhythm. What emerges is cinema as rigorous inquiry — alternately funny and devastating.
To coincide with the BFI's retrospective Cinema Expanded: The Films of Frederick Wiseman, this focus presents an incomplete selection of Wiseman’s landmark works, spanning nearly six decades, on the occasion of the UK release of his most recent film, Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros.
Born in 1930, Frederick Wiseman has spent more than half a century documenting the structures, contradictions and rituals of modern life. From his debut Titicut Follies (1967), a stark look inside a Massachusetts prison for the criminally insane, to more recent, expansive portraits of cultural institutions like the New York Public Library (Ex Libris, 2017) and the Opéra de Paris (La Danse, 2009), Wiseman has created a body of work unmatched in its patience, precision and ethical complexity.
Neither overtly polemical nor emotionally manipulative, Wiseman’s films sit in the granular realities of institutions — schools, hospitals, welfare offices, ballet companies, boxing gyms — through an observational style that defies narration, his approach is simple: a small crew, a sharp eye, and an instinct for rhythm. What emerges is cinema as rigorous inquiry — alternately funny and devastating.
To coincide with the BFI's retrospective Cinema Expanded: The Films of Frederick Wiseman, this focus presents an incomplete selection of Wiseman’s landmark works, spanning nearly six decades, on the occasion of the UK release of his most recent film, Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros.
Programme
From Friday 2 January
Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros
A rich portrait of the Troisgros family, tracing four generations of culinary excellence and daily life across their three Michelin-starred restaurants in the heart of central France.
Friday 2 January, 6.20pm
Sunday 4 January, 2pm
Titicut Follies
A stark portrayal of the conditions that existed at the State Prison for the Criminally Insane at Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
Sunday 4 January, 4pm
Wednesday 7 January, 2.15pm
Juvenile Court
The lives and cases of subjects in Memphis Juvenile Court, revealing tensions between rehabilitation and punishment, legal constraints, offender psychology, and the court’s limited choices.
Tuesday 6 January, 8.30pm
Friday 9 January, 1.45pm
Welfare
Revealing the complex systems of American welfare through cases of unemployment, housing, health, and family crises, showing struggles of clients and workers navigating regulations.
Thursday 8 January, 8.45pm
Sunday 11 January, 2.15pm
Aspen
A film about a town famous in the 19th century for silver mining and now known for its scenic splendour, skiing, intellectual activity and fashionable people.
Sunday 11 January, 5.05pm
Friday16 January, 12pm
Ballet
Showcasing Wiseman’s masterful style, focusing on American Ballet Theatre’s 1992 season, with stunning rehearsal scenes and a lyrical European tour by young dancers.
Thursday 15 January, 7.50pm
Tuesday 20 January, 12pm
Public Housing
A portrait of life at Chicago’s Ida B. Wells housing project, depicting poverty, community efforts, social programmes, and government involvement in managing public housing.
Sunday 18 January, 7.15pm
Thursday 22 January, 12pm
At Berkeley
Wiseman explores university life at California’s oldest and most prestigious public campus, highlighting its academic mission, governance, social role, and collaboration between administration and communities.
From Friday 2 January
Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros
A rich portrait of the Troisgros family, tracing four generations of culinary excellence and daily life across their three Michelin-starred restaurants in the heart of central France.
Friday 2 January, 6.20pm
Sunday 4 January, 2pm
Titicut Follies
A stark portrayal of the conditions that existed at the State Prison for the Criminally Insane at Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
Sunday 4 January, 4pm
Wednesday 7 January, 2.15pm
Juvenile Court
The lives and cases of subjects in Memphis Juvenile Court, revealing tensions between rehabilitation and punishment, legal constraints, offender psychology, and the court’s limited choices.
Tuesday 6 January, 8.30pm
Friday 9 January, 1.45pm
Welfare
Revealing the complex systems of American welfare through cases of unemployment, housing, health, and family crises, showing struggles of clients and workers navigating regulations.
Thursday 8 January, 8.45pm
Sunday 11 January, 2.15pm
Aspen
A film about a town famous in the 19th century for silver mining and now known for its scenic splendour, skiing, intellectual activity and fashionable people.
Sunday 11 January, 5.05pm
Friday16 January, 12pm
Ballet
Showcasing Wiseman’s masterful style, focusing on American Ballet Theatre’s 1992 season, with stunning rehearsal scenes and a lyrical European tour by young dancers.
Thursday 15 January, 7.50pm
Tuesday 20 January, 12pm
Public Housing
A portrait of life at Chicago’s Ida B. Wells housing project, depicting poverty, community efforts, social programmes, and government involvement in managing public housing.
Sunday 18 January, 7.15pm
Thursday 22 January, 12pm
At Berkeley
Wiseman explores university life at California’s oldest and most prestigious public campus, highlighting its academic mission, governance, social role, and collaboration between administration and communities.
no. 236848.