Frederick Wiseman’s City Hall will broadcast premiere on PBS on Tuesday, December 22, 8:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. The 45th film from Wiseman, “City Hall” immerses audiences in the municipality of his hometown of Boston to illustrate a government taking care of its diverse citizens. Through his filmmaking, audiences come to realize how city government touches upon almost every aspect of their lives, acknowledging how necessary services like sanitation, veterans affairs, elder support, parks, licensing bureaus, recordkeeping, as well as a myriad of other activities that support the citizenry, are often taken for granted.
“I made City Hall to illustrate why government is necessary for people to successfully live together,” said Fred Wiseman. “City Hall shows a city government offering a wide variety of important and necessary services to a major American city whose population exemplifies the history of diversity of America. The Boston city government is designed and strives to offer these services in a manner consistent with the Constitution and democratic norms.”
In City Hall, through a series of his trademark masterfully edited vignettes, Wiseman explores the inner-workings of the government of Boston. Headed by Mayor Martin Walsh, a diverse, passionate network of public servants works to keep Boston running while grappling with pressing issues like racial justice, affordable housing, climate action, and homelessness.
City Hall has been screened at film festivals across the world, including the Venice Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, IDFA, and others. City Hall was also selected as a Critic’s Pick by The New York Times.
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