Non-fiction cinema has been undergoing an undeniable shift toward the first-person voice, leaning increasingly toward an introspective and intimate perspective. Yet figures such as — and especially — Frederick Wiseman remind us, through the unmatched observational qualities of their cameras, that cinema is also capable of renouncing the pursuit of individuality, often associated with an auteurist position, and of capturing the social and structural configurations within institutions.
In order to honour Frederick Wiseman’s legacy (read Jean Perret's homage), while also showcasing the work of filmmakers who either extend his approach or, conversely, steer toward different stylistic directions, Filmexplorer has curated a selection dedicated to cinematic representations of institutions and of the people who reflect their hierarchical, bureaucratic, and administrative structures through social interactions.
While films such as Mati Diop’s Dahomey (2024) and Yamina Zoutat’s Retour au Palais (2017) tackle institutions in which relations of power and authority make it politically impossible to adopt a neutral stance and instead require multi-layered criticism, it is through their filmmakers’ capacity to reveal inner tensions and contradictions, and to explore the multiplicity of social, political, and ethical strata, that these works transcend the confines of institutional documentary as a mere form and instead reveal themselves as discursive audiovisual agoras.
On the other hand, works such as Claire Simon’s Notre Corps (2023, interview) and Nicolas Philibert’s De chaque instant (2018), by virtue of engaging with medical institutions, or Fred Baillif’s La Mif (2021, interview), through its focus on a care home for teenagers, bring to the fore the dimension of care — an aspect often overlooked under the heavy weight of institutional structures, yet one that nonetheless creates cracks within them, allowing the viewer glimpses of ephemeral yet deeply felt human connection.
