Frederick Wiseman

“The basis of my films is the idea that the dramatic structure of a film should be a discovery.”

“I think what I'm trying to do is create a cinematic experience that's as close as I can get to the experience of being there.”

“A movie is a construction, a fiction, whether it's a documentary or not.”

“The editing is what gives the film its meaning and rhythm.”

“I don't think there's any such thing as a definitive film.”

“I make films about institutions, but I'm not against institutions per se.”

“All my films are about the way things are.”

“I try to make the movies as complex as the experience I had.”

“I don't start with a thesis.”

“The subject of my movies is the common-place.”

“I think that all my films are comedies in one way or another.”

“You have to be a novelist, a playwright, and a journalist all at the same time.”

“I'm trying to give a sense of what it's like to be in that place.”

“I'm not interested in making a propaganda film.”

“Reality is a lot more interesting than my imagination.”