Fresh off his Sundance appearance, Davis Guggenheim
(“Waiting for Superman”) took the AFI main theater to honor another nonfiction
auteur and master of the form: Fred Wiseman.
Wiseman took center-stage as the 2010 Guggenheim honoree, while
the emceeing Guggenheim lightly peppered the artist with questions in the key
of James Lipton.
A cursory but comprehensive glance into Wiseman’s portfolio
reveals a simple yet very unique direct cinema approach to documentary; a method
that unfolds a narrative in near real-time, while managing to capture the best
of human conflict—a natural feat for a lawyer-come-filmmaker.
Wiseman has never employed the over-produced antics of the
contemporary televised stories the culture has grown so frighteningly
accustomed to, yet this is a far more engrossing way to conduct social
experimentation.
He’s documented institutions, and the behavior they compel
in the average Americans who frequent them. His titles read like encyclopedia
entries: “Ballet”, “Welfare”, “Hospital”, “Basic Training”—all accurate,
lightly edited reflections of ourselves at our best and worst, and every snatch
of film shown at this year’s Silverdocs builds a solid case for the 2010
recipient.
See some of the best of Wiseman before the fest ends June 27th.
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