Film/Video Faculty & Department Administrators
Frederick Wiseman. Photo by Wolfgang Wesener.
Frederick Wiseman, the iconic Boston-born filmmaker and theater director, has spent over six decades capturing the complexities of institutional life, both in the United States and around the world. Known for his unflinching documentary style, Wiseman’s films delve deep into the heart of human experience, offering an insightful and nuanced perspective on society’s inner workings.
In December 2024, MassArt honored Wiseman with a Common Good Award, recognizing his outstanding contributions to the world of documentary filmmaking. And this Spring, MassArt is proud to present screenings of three of his recently restored and rarely-seen works: The Last Letter, Deaf, and Meat, as part of a city-wide retrospective of his work. The MassArt screenings will take place on Saturday, May 10, 2025, and are free and open to the public—no tickets required.
Over the course of his remarkable career, Wiseman has directed more than 40 captivating documentaries, each offering an unflinching look at the complexity of social institutions and human behavior. From the inner workings of hospitals, schools, and prisons to the everyday moments that make up our lives, his films reveal the intricate, often hidden layers of society. His contributions to the world of cinema have earned him countless accolades, including four Emmys, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the prestigious Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival.
Wiseman’s cinematic eye captures not only the structures we navigate but also the people who populate them, allowing viewers to connect with the human stories behind the institutions. His observational style—devoid of narration—invites audiences to draw their own conclusions, making each film a deeply personal experience.
Beyond his work in documentary filmmaking, Frederick has also made significant contributions to the theater. He has directed acclaimed productions in Paris at La Comédie Française, including Samuel Beckett’s Oh Les Beaux Jours, and in New York at the Theater for a New Audience. His diverse artistic vision has been documented in the book Frederick Wiseman, a comprehensive collection of essays published by Gallimard and the Museum of Modern Art.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience the work of a living legend. The screenings of The Last Letter (one of only two fictional Wiseman films), Deaf, and Meat on May 10, 2025, offer an exclusive glimpse into the work of one of the most celebrated filmmakers of our time. Whether you’re a longtime admirer or new to Wiseman’s work, these films will provide an unparalleled opportunity to see the world through his keen and compassionate lens.
Event Details
Date: Saturday, May 10, 2025
Location: MassArt (Boston, MA)
Films: The Last Letter, Deaf, and Meat
Admission: Free, no ticket required
This is more than a film screening—it’s a chance to celebrate a filmmaker whose work continues to shape how we view the world.
Additional film screenings
Frederick Wiseman, 1990, U.S., 176m
Central Park focuses on the famous New York City landmark and the variety of ways people make use of it, while illustrating the complex problems the New York City Parks Department deals with in order to maintain and preserve the park and keep it open and accessible to the public.
Coolidge Corner Theatre, Wednesday, April 23, 7pm
Tickets: www.coolidge.org
Frederick Wiseman, 1993, U.S., 130m
Zoo is a film about the Miami Zoo, the care and maintenance of the animals by the keepers, the work of the veterinarians and their staff, and the visits to the zoo by people from all over the world. The film presents the wide diversity of interests and activities at the zoo and the interrelatedness of the animal, human, ethical, financial, technical, organizational, and research aspects of its operation.
Independent Film Festival Boston (IFFBoston), Sunday, April 27, at a time and venue TBA
Tickets: https://iffboston.org/
Frederick Wiseman, 2010, U.S., 91m
The subject of the film is an Austin, Texas institution, Lord’s Gym, which was founded over twenty years ago by Richard Lord, a former professional boxer. A wide variety of people of all ages, races, ethnicities and social classes train at the gym: men, women, children, doctors, lawyers, judges, business men and women, immigrants, professional boxers and people who want to become professional boxers alongside amateurs who love the sport and teenagers who are trying to develop strength and assertiveness. The gym is an example of the American “melting pot” where people meet, talk, and train.
Somerville Theatre, Tuesday, May 6, 7pm
Tickets: www.somervilletheatre.com
Frederick Wiseman, 1997, U.S., 195m
Public Housing documents daily life at the Ida B. Wells public housing development in Chicago. The film illustrates some of the experiences of people living in conditions of extreme poverty. Events include the work of the tenants’ council, street life, the role of police, job training programs, drug education, teenage mothers, dysfunctional families, elderly residents, nursery school, after-school teenage programs, and the activities of the city, state, and federal governments in maintaining and changing public housing.
Somerville Theatre, Tuesday, May 20, 6:30pm
Tickets: www.somervilletheatre.com
Award-winning cinematographer and MassArt alumnus Terrence Hayes.
Fresh off a best film win from the Beverly Hill Film Festival, MassArt alumnus Terrence Hayes, BFA ’96, has built a remarkable career as a cinematographer. His work has been featured in major motion pictures like Knives Out, The Holdovers, and Challengers—for which he was recently nominated for a Society of Camera Operators award. Terence has collaborated with Hollywood heavyweights like Zendaya, Daniel Craig, Chris Evans—yet he remains grounded in the belief that filmmaking is, above all, a team effort.
“Whether it’s a $100 million or $5 million film, the industry requires a lot of people working together to tell a story,” Terrence says. “It’s a very collaborative art form.”
Growing up in South Boston, Terrence didn’t know anyone with a career in the arts. But his passion for drawing and painting was evident early, and his mom signed him up for classes at the Museum of Fine Arts when he was just five. Later, while sailing and studying drafting in high school, Terrence thought he was going to be a naval architect.
That changed when he enrolled at MassArt. The required first-year Studio Foundation program opened his eyes to a wide range of creative possibilities. By his sophomore year, he had found his path in film.
“The best part about my time at MassArt was being able to make mistakes and try again,” he says. “I’m so grateful for those experiences and how they’ve shaped who I am today.”
At the time, Quentin Tarantino was making waves, and many of Terrence’s peers were exploring gritty crime stories. His own senior thesis, Portrait of a Hitman, followed a conflicted assassin wrestling with morality and duty—a narrative that reflected his growing interest in character-driven storytelling and visual nuance.
Determined to blend his cinematography skills with narrative filmmaking, Terrence continued his education at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. There, he produced a new film every week—an intense pace that tested his adaptability and built on the creative resilience he developed at MassArt.
Over the years, his “film family,” as he calls it, has included several fellow MassArt alumni, including Alan Caso and Ian Dumas, BFA ’21. Those connections have led to lasting collaborations and opportunities, and he continues to value the community that began during his college years.
His advice for current students: “Don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself and what you want out of your education and beyond.”
His next project: filming the Anthony Bourdian biopic Tony in Provincetown, MA.
From his early days drawing in Southie to working on major motion pictures, Terrence Hayes is a testament to the power of following your passion, staying curious, and building community along the way.
Don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself and what you want out of your education and beyond.Terrence Hayes, BFA ’96
Alex Small-Butera sat down for an interview to explain about how he and Lindsay got from here to there, rising in their careers to receive this mark of achievement from Hollywood on their ability as animators, as artists.
View story
At MassArt, MFA students and alumni uncover their unique curatorial styles through hands-on experiences and courses like Curatorial Practice. Catherine LeComte Lecce’s exhibition, Matrescence, explored the profound and often overlooked transformations of motherhood.
View story
City-wide retrospective to feature freshly-restored films by the iconic documentarian
On May 10, 2025, MassArt will offer screenings of three rarely-seen films: THE LAST LETTER, DEAF, AND MEAT
BOSTON — Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) joins The Brattle Theatre, Coolidge Corner Theatre, IFFBoston, Museum of Fine Arts Boston (MFA), and Somerville Theatre in celebrating renowned Boston-born filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, offering screenings of three of his rarely-seen films.
The MassArt screenings, which all take place on Saturday, May 10, are free and open to the public with no ticket required (RSVP recommended) and will take place at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, 621 Huntington Avenue, Boston, in the DMC Lecture Hall.
MassArt is particularly honored to be a part of this historic celebration, as the College presented Wiseman with a Common Good Award, in recognition of his career and work, in December 2024.
Throughout his nearly six-decade career, Wiseman has been steadily and unflinchingly chronicling institutional life in America and abroad.
“Frederick Wiseman is one of our greatest living documentary filmmakers, and it is an honor to work together to pay tribute to his storied career,” said the participating film institutions in a joint statement.
Wiseman himself adds, “I am very pleased that the Brattle, Coolidge, MFA, Somerville, IFFBoston, and MassArt are collaborating on the retrospective of my films. It is a great honor for me that the theaters I spent so much time in, at various stages of my life, are working together to show the films.”
The Last Letter
Frederick Wiseman, 2002, U.S., 62m
Saturday, May 10, 2:30pm
The Last Letter follows a mother who was locked away in a Jewish ghetto of an occupied Ukrainian town in 1941 as she revisits her life in a last letter to her son, who was safe outside enemy lines. The letter, with its detailed observations of daily life in a ghetto, reveals the fear, courage, frailty, compassion and dignity of this woman as she reviews her life and faces her death.
Deaf
Frederick Wiseman, 1986, U.S., 164m
Saturday, May 10, 4pm
The School for the Deaf at the Alabama Institute is organized around a theory of total communication, i.e. the use of signs and finger spelling in conjunction with speech, hearing aids, lip reading, gestures and the written word. The film shows sequences dealing with various aspects of this comprehensive training such as teaching students and parents to sign; speech therapy; psychological counseling; regular academic courses; vocational training; disciplinary problems; parents visits; sports and recreational activity; training in living and working independently; and developing skills in home and money management.
Meat
Frederick Wiseman, 1976, U.S., 113m
Saturday, May 10, 7:15pm
MEAT traces the process through which cattle and sheep become consumer goods. It depicts the processing and transportation of meat products by a highly automated packing plant, illustrating important points and problems in the area of production, transportation, logistics, equipment design, time-motion study, and labor management.
The celebration of Wiseman’s work began on March 1 with a screening of his best-known and most controversial film Titicut Follies at the MFA. This wide-ranging retrospective features a selection of films spanning decades of the iconic filmmaker’s prolific career, including many of the 33 classics newly restored in 4K following a five-year restoration process by Zipporah Films and overseen by Wiseman.
A full schedule of screenings is listed below. Showtimes and ticket prices vary; please visit organization websites for details. Additional screenings and showtimes TBA.
The Brattle: https://brattlefilm.org/film-series/frederick-wiseman/ Coolidge Corner Theatre: https://coolidge.org/wiseman
IFFBoston: https://iffboston.org/
MFA: https://www.mfa.org/series/two-films-by-frederick-wiseman Somerville Theatre: https://www.somervilletheatre.com/
MassArt: https://calendar.massart.edu/
FILM SCHEDULE (listed by date)
Aspen
Frederick Wiseman, 1991, U.S., 146m
Aspen is an exploration during the winter months of the daily life and activities of the people who live, work, visit, and play in Aspen, famous in the 19th century for silver mining and now known for its scenic splendor, mountains, skiing, hiking, music, intellectual activity, and fashionable people.
Somerville Theatre, Tuesday, April 15, 7pm
Tickets: https://www.somervilletheatre.com/
La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet
Frederick Wiseman, 2009, U.S., 158m
The Paris Opera Ballet is one of the world’s great ballet companies. The film follows the rehearsals and performances of seven ballets: Genus by Wayne McGregor, Le Songe de Medée by Angelin Preljocaj, La Maison de Bernarda by Mats Ek, Paquita by Pierre Lacotte, Casse Noisette by Rudolph Nureyev, Orphée and Eurydice by Pina Bausch, and Romeo and Juliette by Sasha Waltz. The film shows the work involved in administering the company and the coordinated and collaborative work of choreographers, ballet masters, dancers, musicians, and costume, set, and lighting designers.
Coolidge Corner Theatre, Thursday, April 17, 7pm
Tickets: www.coolidge.org
Central Park
Frederick Wiseman, 1990, U.S., 176m
Central Park focuses on the famous New York City landmark and the variety of ways people make use of it, while illustrating the complex problems the New York City Parks Department deals with in order to maintain and preserve the park and keep it open and accessible to the public.
Coolidge Corner Theatre, Wednesday, April 23, 7pm
Tickets: www.coolidge.org
Zoo
Frederick Wiseman, 1993, U.S., 130m
Zoo is a film about the Miami Zoo, the care and maintenance of the animals by the keepers, the work of the veterinarians and their staff, and the visits to the zoo by people from all over the world. The film presents the wide diversity of interests and activities at the zoo and the interrelatedness of the animal, human, ethical, financial, technical, organizational, and research aspects of its operation.
Independent Film Festival Boston (IFFBoston), Sunday, April 27, at a time and venue TBA
Tickets: https://iffboston.org/
Boxing Gym
Frederick Wiseman, 2010, U.S., 91m
The subject of the film is an Austin, Texas institution, Lord’s Gym, which was founded over twenty years ago by Richard Lord, a former professional boxer. A wide variety of people of all
ages, races, ethnicities and social classes train at the gym: men, women, children, doctors, lawyers, judges, business men and women, immigrants, professional boxers and people who want to become professional boxers alongside amateurs who love the sport and teenagers who are trying to develop strength and assertiveness. The gym is an example of the American
“melting pot” where people meet, talk, and train.
Somerville Theatre, Tuesday, May 6, 7pm
Tickets: https://www.somervilletheatre.com/
Public Housing
Frederick Wiseman, 1997, U.S., 195m
Public Housing documents daily life at the Ida B. Wells public housing development in Chicago. The film illustrates some of the experiences of people living in conditions of extreme poverty. Events include the work of the tenants’ council, street life, the role of police, job training programs, drug education, teenage mothers, dysfunctional families, elderly residents, nursery school, after-school teenage programs, and the activities of the city, state, and federal governments in maintaining and changing public housing.
Somerville Theatre, Tuesday, May 20, 6:30pm
Tickets: https://www.somervilletheatre.com/
###
About MassArt
The only independent public college of art and design in the country, MassArt was founded in 1873 in response to a bold idea: art and design are essential to our daily lives, and key to improving our society and economy. What began as a school to teach drawing is today a bold, comprehensive art and design institution that spans 18 undergraduate and nine graduate programs, certificates, continuing education, and post-baccalaureate study.
About Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman is a film and theater director of 46 films, primarily focusing on American institutions. His most recent film, MENUS-PLAISIRS – Les Troisgros was released in fall 2023. In 2019, he was the honoree of the Library Lions Award from the New York Public Library and received the Pennebaker Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards. In 2018, he was the Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard University. In 2016, he received an Honorary Award for lifetime achievement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors. He is a MacArthur Fellow, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has won numerous awards, including four Emmys®. In recent years, he directed The Belle of Amherst, Beckett’s Happy Days in Paris and Vasily Grossman’s The Last Letter at the Comédie-Française in Paris and Theatre for a New Audience in New York. A ballet inspired by his first film, TITICUT FOLLIES (1967), premiered at the New York University Skirball Theater in 2017.
About Zipporah Films
Zipporah Films was founded in 1971 by Frederick Wiseman as the exclusive world-wide distribution and production company of all his films. The 33 film project involved new versions of the films restored in 4K from the 16mm image negative and original sound. Digitization and color grading were carried out at DuArt and Goldcrest laboratories in New York. Digital restoration by Jane Tolmachyov, supervised by Frederick Wiseman and produced by Karen Konicek. A presentation and restoration by Zipporah Films with the participation of the Library of Congress.
For more information on Frederick Wiseman and his films visit www.zipporah.com. mTuckmanMedia has handled the theatrical releases in North America for Zipporah Films dating back to LA DANSE in 2009.
As a self-proclaimed “visual explorer”, Artist and Visiting Professor Maria Servellón approach her multimedia projects and independent films with “reflective curiosity, moments of magical realism, and a lot of herself.” Servellón wrote, produced, directed and acted in her poetic coming-of-age short film “Hyphen.” She also is working on a short mystery drama, “Phantasma,” and has designed projections over the past few years for plays produced by Company One and the Boston Playwrights’ Theater, such as ‘Black Superhero Magic Mama’.
At MassArt, Servellón is supporting the next generation of visual explorers as a visiting assistant professor this semester in the film and video department.
If you sense a bit of The Shining with a dash of Rosemary’s Baby in the new psychological horror flick Dead Whisper, and if the film sends a few shivers up your spine, you have cinematographer and MassArt Alumnus Ben Grant (‘18 BFA Film/Video) to thank. The LA-based MassArt film and video alumnus was very much in charge of the look and feel of the movie. “The cinematographer is almost like the gatekeeper of the image,” he says. “It’s their job to visually interpret the script with the director. Together, they develop the visual language.”
Grant, who also served as one of the film’s producers, credits his learning experience at MassArt for his ability to make a go of it in L.A. “MassArt really opened my mind about what filmmaking is and what it can be – it showed me how to look at the entire craft from a new perspective,” he says.
He adds that the College “lets you do what you want. If you’re really passionate about one element of filmmaking, they let you pursue that. At other schools, they make you focus on all these other elements that really aren’t going to be beneficial or help you in the real world.”
Dead Whisper still. Courtesy of Ben Grant.
Dead Whisper still. Courtesy of Ben Grant.
Dead Whisper still. Courtesy of Ben Grant.
Dead Whisper still. Courtesy of Ben Grant.
Dead Whisper still. Courtesy of Ben Grant.
Dead Whisper still. Courtesy of Ben Grant.
Dead Whisper still. Courtesy of Ben Grant.
This latest movie, filmed entirely in Massachusetts with lots of evocative shadows, long staircases, and views of the sea, is about what happens to a man literally tortured by the demons of his young daughter’s death as he finds it impossible to move on without her.
Dead Whisper, which has already scored a feature in Variety, is now available to stream on Apple TV or Prime Video. The film will be showing locally in Salem at the Cinema Salem on July 10, and in Hingham at the Loring Hall Theatre on July 11 and 12.
I think that MassArt graduates stand out in a crowd because they’re clever and resourceful. In the film program, for example, you don’t just learn lighting and then get to be a gaffer. You have to wear every single hat to make your film work. And that’s powerful. MassArt students can do a lot, with less.
After graduating from MassArt with a degree in film and video, I decided to go into photography; it’s a language I love to speak and it made sense for me after college. I thought I’d never do filmmaking again. But now, crazily, I’m producing and co-directing a documentary, OVERDUE, about the new Boston Chinatown library. It’s an important film because Chinatown hasn’t had a permanent library branch since 1956. Through this documentary, we’re hoping to platform every community member who made bringing a permanent library branch to Chinatown possible, 70 years later. It’s a story about reclamation, repair, and restoration.
So yes, I studied film, and now I’m a filmmaker — but I’ve had a lot of diverse experiences in my career. Today, I still have a creative portraiture practice. I also do exhibition documentation for art museums in the area, which is completely different. I’ve said yes to a lot of new things and different challenges throughout my career. I see incredible transformative projects happening and I want to jump in. I can’t just pick one thing. I believe my continued connection to the MassArt community has supported these new and different career paths every step of the way, and for that, I’m grateful!
I’m also vice chair of the Alumni Leadership Council. Essentially what we do is work to connect MassArt graduates to each other, back to the school, and then to current students. When (students) graduate from MassArt, they might think, ‘Oh, God, real life!’ But we want them to know it’s okay. You’re supported, and you’re part of a community. There are so many opportunities, and so much to say ‘yes’ to.
Alex Small-Butera sat down for an interview to explain about how he and Lindsay got from here to there, rising in their careers to receive this mark of achievement from Hollywood on their ability as animators, as artists.
View story At MassArt, MFA students and alumni uncover their unique curatorial styles through hands-on experiences and courses like Curatorial Practice. Catherine LeComte Lecce’s exhibition, Matrescence, explored the profound and often overlooked transformations of motherhood.
View story 