Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930) is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director.

He then started documentary filmmaking, and has won numerous film awards as well as Guggenheim and MacArthur fellowships.

[8] Wiseman's films are, in his view, elaborations of a personal experience and not ideologically objective portraits of his subjects.

He spends the bulk of the production period editing the material, trying to find a rhythm to make a movie.

[11] Any suspense is on a per-scene level, not constructed from plot points, and there are no characters with whom the viewer is expected to identify.

Nevertheless, Wiseman feels that drama is a crucial element for his films to "work as movies" (Poppy).

[18] In 2006, he received the George Polk Career Award, given annually by Long Island University to honor contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting.