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Frederick Wiseman Named Guggenheim Honoree

SILVERDOCS TO HONOR FREDERICK WISEMAN

Silver Spring, Maryland, April 29, 2010—AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival today announced that it will honor Frederick Wiseman at the Charles Guggenheim Symposium, a centrepiece of the documentary festival, which takes place June 21-27, 2010 at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in the Washington, D.C. area. Wiseman is widely recognized as one of America’s greatest and most prolific documentary filmmakers, bringing a curious, patient and sensitive eye to the grand panorama of American life. The Symposium, named after the late, four-time Academy Award winner Charles Guggenheim, honors a filmmaker who has mastered the power of documentary and inspires audiences with powerful explorations of the human experience. Past recipients include Barbara Kopple (2004), Martin Scorsese (2006), Jonathan Demme (2007), Spike Lee (2008) and Albert Maysles (2009).

As part of the Symposium, the festival will screen a series of excerpts from Wiseman’s body of documentary work. Following the screening, Wiseman will be joined by special guests to engage in a discussion of Wiseman’s career.

“For over four decades, Wiseman has used a 16mm camera and portable sound equipment to create an exceptional body of work consisting of over thirty feature-length films devoted primarily to exploring American institutions,” said Sky Sitney, Artistic Director, “We are thrilled to recognize his vast contribution to cinema and the documentary form.”

From a hospital to a high school, a welfare center to a police precinct, Wiseman’s films reveal the deep inner-workings of American society. Whether reflecting the “American dream” or American disillusionment, Wiseman’s camera observes human behavior in all its banal, complex, contradictory and unpredictable modes, particularly as they manifest within institutional structures. With extraordinary restraint and a minimum of intrusion or influence, Wiseman has trained his camera on a wide cross-section of society; from welfare recipients to victims of domestic violence, from doctors to soldiers, from ballet dancers to factory workers, and from Benedictine monks to fashion models. Among his vast array of acclaimed works are TITTICUT FOLLIES (1967), HIGH SCHOOL (1968), HOSPITAL (1969), LAW & ORDER (1969), BASIC TRAINING (1971), DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (2001), and most recently LA DANSE (2009).

About AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs

AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival is a six-day internationally recognized event that honors excellence in filmmaking, supports the diverse voices and free expression of independent storytellers and celebrates the power of documentary to improve our understanding of the world. Now in its eighth year, the 2010 festival runs June 22–27 at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in the Washington, DC area. The 2009 Festival featured 122 films from more than 60 countries and attracted over 27,000 attendees, including the influential audiences of the nation’s capital and media professionals from around the world. The concurrent five-day AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs International Documentary Conference presents thought-provoking presentations and engages a diverse group of over 1,000 filmmakers and industry leaders concerned with the future of non-fiction storytelling, production and distribution. For more information, go to Silverdocs.com.

About the American Film Institute

AFI is America’s promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work, and to educate the next generation of storytellers. As a national, public-supported educational and cultural organization, AFI provides leadership in film, television and digital media and is the only non-profit organization dedicated to initiatives that engage the past, the present and the future of the moving image arts.

AFI preserves the legacy of America's film heritage through the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, an authoritative and scholarly record of American films made from 1896 to the present, and the AFI Archives, which contains rare and previously unseen footage from AFI's 40-plus year history.

AFI honors the artists and their work through a variety of programs and special events during the year, including the annual AFI Life Achievement Award and AFI Awards. For 37 years, the AFI Life Achievement Award has remained the highest honor for a career in film while AFI Awards, the institute's almanac for the 21st century, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year. AFI's 100 Years/100 Movies… series and definitive movie reference lists, as well as Target presents AFI Night at the Movies, have introduced and reintroduced classic American movies to millions of film lovers.

And as the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the United States, AFI offers film enthusiasts a variety of events throughout the year, including AFI Fest presented by Audi, the longest running international film festival in Los Angeles; AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs, the largest documentary festival in the US; and year-round programming at the AFI Silver Theatre in the Washington, D.C. area.

AFI educates the next generation of storytellers at its world-renowned AFI Conservatory, offering a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree in six filmmaking disciplines – Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and Screenwriting. AFI also explores new digital technologies through AFI Conservatory curriculum and workshops and at AFI DigiFest, and showcases the work of young storytellers through AFI ScreenNation and emerging filmmakers through AFI Project: 20/20.

Additional information about AFI is available at AFI.com.

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world’s number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in 180 countries. Discovery empowers people to explore their world and satisfy their curiosity through 100-plus worldwide networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Investigation Discovery, Planet Green, and HD Theater, as well as leading consumer and educational products and services, and a diversified portfolio of digital media services including HowStuffWorks.com. For more information, please visit discoverycommunications.com.

About the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center

AFI Silver is one of the nation's premier film theaters, building an appreciation of the art and artists through exploring and celebrating new and classic films and filmmakers from around the globe. AFI Silver offers a year-round program of the best in American and international cinema, featuring a dynamic mix of retrospectives, special events, tributes, on-stage guest appearances, specialty first-run movies, festivals, premieres, and education and community-based programs in a theatrical setting of the highest standards. Anchored by the stunningly restored 1938 Silver Theatre, the three-screen AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center is a state-of-the-art film and digital media exhibition venue that serves as a national model for preserving and honoring our shared film and film-going heritage. American Airlines is the official airline of the American Film Institute.