Frederick Wiseman’s groundbreaking documentary masterpiece starkly portrays the conditions at the Bridgewater State Prison for the Criminally Insane in the late 1960s. Wiseman’s film served as the inspiration for the James Sewell Ballet’s Titicut Follies—The Ballet, which premieres in Minneapolis on March 30. An acclaimed innovator of the documentary genre, Wiseman was recently presented with an Honorary Academy Award. 1967, US, 35mm, 84 minutes.
A conversation between filmmaker Frederick Wiseman and James Sewell, cofounder and artistic director of the James Sewell Ballet, follows the screening.
These films were preserved by the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center from original camera negatives in the Zipporah Films Collection.
