PERSONAL
Born January 1, 1930, in Boston, MA; son of Jacob Leo and Gertrude Leah (maiden name, Kotzen) Wiseman; married Zipporah Batshaw, May 29, 1955; children: David B, Eric T. Education: Williams College, B.A., 1951; Yale University School of Law, LL.B., 1954; also attended University of Paris.
Addresses:
Office—Zipporah Films, 1 Richdale Ave., Unit Four, Cambridge, MA 02140-2610. Agent—Patrick Herold, International Creative Management, 10250 Constellation Way, 9th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90067.
Career:
Director, producer, film editor, and sound editor. Zipporah Films, Cambridge, MA, founder, general manager, and documentary filmmaker, 1970—. American Museum of Natural History, member of advisory committee for Margaret Mead Film Festival, 1992—; Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, member of festival committee, 1994—; New York Documentary Festival, member of advisory board, 1997—. John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, member of artistic board for American National Theatre, 1985; Harvard University, member of honorary advisory committee for American Repertory Theatre, 1986—; Theatre for a New Audience, member of artistic council and board of directors, 1998—. Worked as a lawyer in Paris, 1956-58; Boston University, Boston, MA, lecturer in law, 1958-61; Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, research associate in sociology, 1962-66; visiting lecturer at other universities. Military service: U.S. Army, 1955-56.
Member:
International Documentary Association (member of board of directors, 1986—), Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (fellow), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (fellow), American Academy of Arts and Letters (honorary member), Organization for Social and Technological Innovation, Les Amis du Cinema du Reel Association (honorary member), Massachusetts Bar Association.
Awards, Honors:
Mannheim Film Ducat, best feature, International Filmfest Mannheim-Heidelberg, 1967, for Titicut Follies; Emmy Award, outstanding achievement in news documentary programming, 1969, for Law and Order; Emmy Awards, best director and outstanding achievement in news documentary programming, 1970, and Columbia Dupont Award, excellence in broadcast journalism, all for Hospital; Gabriel Award for Personal Achievement, Catholic Broadcasters' Association, 1975; Guggenheim fellowship, 1980-81; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation grant, 1982-87; Columbia Dupont Award, excellence in broadcast journalism, 1975, for Juvenile Court; decorated chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, 1987, decorated commander, 2000; nomination for Grand Jury Prize, documentary category, Sundance Film Festival, 1988, for Missile; Career Achievement Award, International Documentary Association, 1990; FIPRESCI Award, Berlin International Film Festival, 1990, for Near Death; Peabody Personal Award, 1991; Grand Prix, Marseille Festival of Documentary Film, 1998, and Golden Satellite Award nomination, best documentary film, International Press Academy, 1999, both for Public Housing; Rosenberger Medal, University of Chicago, 1999; Lifetime Achievement Award, Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, 2000; Silver Hugo Award, best documentary, Chicago International Film Festival, 2001, for Domestic Violence; Career Achievement Award, DoubleTake Documentary Film Festival, 2002; Award of Merit, Yale Law Association, 2002; Dan David Prize Laureate, 2003; Special Achievement Award, American Society of Cinematographers, 2006; George Polk Memorial Award for career achievement, Department of Journalism, Long Island University, 2006; Lifetime Achievement Award, Chicago International Documentary Festival, 2007; honorary degrees include L.H.D. from University of Cincinnati, 1973, Williams College, 1976, and John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York, 1994, and D.F.A. from Lake Forest College, 1991, Princeton University, 1994, and Bowdoin College, 2005.
CREDITS
Film Producer, Director, and Film Editor:
Titicut Follies, 1967.
High School, 1968.
Law and Order (also known as The Greater Good), Zipporah Films, 1969.
Hospital, Zipporah Films, 1970.
Basic Training, Zipporah Films, 1971.
Essene, Zipporah Films, 1972.
Juvenile Court, Zipporah Films, 1973.
Primate, Zipporah Films, 1974.
Welfare, Zipporah Films, 1975.
Meat, Zipporah Films, 1976.
Canal Zone, Zipporah Films, 1977.
Sinai Field Mission, Zipporah Films, 1978.
Manoeuvre (also known as Maneuver), Zipporah Films, 1979.
Model, Zipporah Films, 1980.
Seraphita's Diary, Zipporah Films, 1982.
The Store, Zipporah Films, 1983.
High School II, Zipporah Films, 1993.
Ballet, Zipporah Films, 1995.
Public Housing, Zipporah Films, 1997.
Domestic Violence 2, Zipporah Films, 2002.
La derniere lettre (also known as The Last Letter), Ad Vitam, 2002, subtitled version, Zipporah Films, 2003.
Most of these documentary films were eventually broadcast as television specials by PBS.
Documentary Film Producer, Director, Film Editor, and Sound Editor:
Racetrack, Zipporah Films, 1985.
Multi-Handicapped, Zipporah Films, 1986.
Deaf, Zipporah Films, 1986.
Blind, Zipporah Films, 1986.
Adjustment and Work, Zipporah Films, 1986.
Missile, Zipporah Films, 1987.
Near Death, Zipporah Films, 1989.
Central Park, Zipporah Films, 1989.
Aspen, Zipporah Films, 1991.
Zoo, Zipporah Films, 1993.
La Comedie-Francaise ou L'amour joue, Zipporah Films, 1996.
Belfast, Maine, Zipporah Films, 1999.
Domestic Violence, Zipporah Films, 2002.
The Garden, Zipporah Films, 2002.
State Legislature, Zipporah Films, 2007.
Most of these documentary films were eventually broadcast as television specials by PBS.
Film Work; Other:
Producer (with Shirley Clarke), The Cool World, Cinema V, 1963.
Film Appearances:
To Render a Life, 1992.
Cinema Verite: Defining the Moment (documentary; also known as Cinema verite-Le moment decisif), National Film Board of Canada, 1999.
There Is No Direction (documentary short film), Temps Noir/Muse Films/Central Films, 2005.
Stage Director:
(And producer) Tonight We Improvise (video sequences), American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge, MA, 1986-87.
Life and Fate, American Repertory Theatre, 1988.
The Last Letter (one-woman show), American Repertory Theatre, 1988, then La Comedie Francaise, Paris, 2000, later Theatre for a New Audience, Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York City, 2003-2004.
Hate, American Repertory Theatre, 1991.
Welfare: The Opera, American Music Theatre Festival, Philadelphia, PA, 1992.
Oh les beaux jours, La Comedie Francaise, Paris, 2006.
Stage Appearances:
The filmmaker, Tonight We Improvise (video sequences), American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge, MA, 1986-87.
Oh les beaux jours, La Comedie Francaise, Paris, 2007.
Major Tours:
The Last Letter, North American cities, 2001.
WRITINGS
Documentary Film Scripts:
Basic Training, Zipporah Films, 1971.
Welfare, Zipporah Films, 1975.
Canal Zone, Zipporah Films, 1977.
Model, Zipporah Films, 1980.
Seraphita's Diary, Zipporah Films, 1982.
Racetrack, Zipporah Films, 1985.
Missile, Zipporah Films, 1987.
Central Park, Zipporah Films, 1989.
La derniere lettre (also known as The Last Letter), Ad Vitam, 2002, subtitled version, Zipporah Films, 2003.
Stage Scripts:
(With David Slavitt) Welfare: The Opera, libretto by Slavitt, music by Lenny Pickett, American Music Theatre Festival, Philadelphia, PA, 1992, then Theatre at St. Anne's Center for Restoration and the Arts, New York City, 1997.
The Last Letter (one-woman show; based on the novel Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman), La Comedie Francaise, Paris, 2000, then Theatre for a New Audience, Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York City, 2003-2004.
Other:
Contributor to periodicals, including Film Library Quarterly, New Yorker, Sight and Sound, and Threepenny Review.
OTHER SOURCES
Books:
Atkins, Thomas R., Frederick Wiseman, Monarch Press, 1976.
Contemporary Literary Criticism, Volume 20, Gale, 1982.
Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd edition, Gale, 1998.
International Directory of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 2: Directors, 2nd edition, St. James Press, 1991.
Electronic:
Zipporah Films Web site,http://www.zipporah.com, August 15, 2007.