City Hall

Synopsis

In his own inimitable style, Frederick Wiseman takes us inside Boston City Hall to follow Democratic mayor Marty Walsh as he goes about his day-to-day business with civil servants, the police, the fire service and healthcare workers to provide the city's inhabitants with the hundreds of services on which they depend.

Wiseman stresses the importance of communication between institutions and individuals and forges a powerful argument for rebuilding trust in elected officials occupying positions of power.

Bio/Filmo

Frederick Wiseman (Boston, 1930) practised and taught law before making his debut documentary, Titicut Follies (1967), the  first in a series of unflinching films carrying no additional commentary, interviews or music and shaped by Wiseman's own highly selective editing. Since 1971 all his films have been independently produced by his production company, Zipporah Films. He himself sees his series of documentaries (forty and counting) as all forming part of one single film over 100 hours long. He has spent a half-century portraying American institutions, society and professions in works such as At Berkeley (2013), National Gallery (2014), In Jackson Heights (2015) and Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (2017). In 2017 he was awarded an honorary Oscar.