Frederick Wiseman’s New Documentary on Small Town USA Opens November 16 at AFS Cinema

MONROVIA, INDIANA opens at AFS Cinema on Friday, November 16th. Tickets go on sale Monday, November 12. Get tickets.

Since the opening of the AFS Cinema, we’ve been fortunate to show every new (and restored) Frederick Wiseman film. Wiseman is one of our greatest living filmmakers and at 88, he continues to turn out new films each year. This year’s film, MONROVIA, INDIANA, observes the daily life of a small midwestern town through Wiseman’s lens. And, in true Wiseman fashion, we have the chance to get a pretty global view of the town. From small talk in the mornings at the local donut shop to city council meetings to city fairs, we get an opportunity to see what makes the town tick. This is yet another fascinating observational documentary in Wiseman’s oeuvre and we look forward to the next.

In a Q&A after a screening of MONROVIA, INDIANA at New York Film Festival, Wiseman answered a few questions from the audience about production and his process.

Here’s what critics are saying:

“…an immersive wonder, thanks to Wiseman’s masterful ability to assemble images that lead from one painterly visual to the next. ” – Eric Kohn, IndieWire

“Wiseman is the last person who’d call his films ‘objective,’ because they’re not. It’s more that their point of view is multi-faceted, sophisticated, connoting a perspective that’s deeply felt but not on-the-nose obvious…His portrait of Monrovia reveals emptiness that’s subtle and unforced but becomes devastating.” – Glenn Kenny, Rogerebert.com

“Few filmmakers can turn a mundane town council meeting about a library bench into a meditation on patriotism and civic responsibility the way Wiseman can.” – Entertainment Weekly

“In the wake of the 2016 election, traveling to Monrovia is hardly an idle or random decision, and the unavoidable political implications of MONROVIA, INDIANA give its observations an undeniable urgency.” – A.O. Scott, N.Y. Times

• Contributed by Henry Graham