In Jackson Heights

(Frederick Wiseman, US 2015, 190 min., DCP)

Rochester Premiere. In his fortieth film Frederick Wiseman, considered by many to be the American documentary filmmaker, paints a fresco of one of the most racially and ethnically diverse communities in the United States and the world, the neighborhood of Jackson Heights in Queens, New York. Residents include immigrants from every country in South America, as well as Mexico, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and China, and speak 167 languages. Some are citizens, some have green cards, some are without documents. The people who live in Jackson Heights, in their cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity, are representative of the new wave of immigrants to America. Some of the issues the film raises—assimilation, integration, immigration, and cultural and religious differences—are common to all major cities of the Western world. The subject of the film is the daily life of the people in this society—their businesses, community centers, religions, and political, cultural, and social lives—the conflict between maintaining ties to traditions of their countries of origin and the need to learn and adapt to American ways and values.

“One of the most important American films of the year.” – Daniel Kasman (Mubi Notebook)