...was the town undertaker. He said she would help me out because she knew everybody. I visited for an afternoon, and when I came back a couple months later, I started shooting.

I filmed for 10 weeks and shot 150 hours. Filming is totally immersive. I was present and ready to shoot for 10-12 hours each day. Nothing was planned. Every shot is the result of chance, judgement and luck. The shooting is a collaborative effort between myself and my cinematographer, John Davey.

People have their way of life, they have their work, and they are very satisfied. They are not wildly curious about the external world outside of Monrovia. I tried to edit the film so that each sequence has enough information for the viewer to understand what’s going on. My point of view is expressed indirectly through the structure, i.e. the choice and order of the sequences.

I shoot everything that interests me and think I may need in order to edit a sequence. No sequences are staged. For example, the meeting scenes were all at least 8-10 times longer in their original form then in the final film. The sequences are shaped in the editing.

In the early 20th century, small towns were the backbone of America. There are still roughly 23,000 small towns sprinkled across the country. I would like people to compare and contrast their way of life in the big city to the way of life in Monrovia so that they can understand the similarities and the differences of life in a small town.”

- Frederick Wiseman

Since 1967, Frederick Wiseman has directed 43 documentaries—dramatic, narrative films that seek to portray ordinary human experience in a wide variety of contemporary social institutions. His films include TITICUT FOLLIES, HIGH SCHOOL, WELFARE, JUVENILE COURT, BOXING GYM, LA DANSE, BALLET, LA COMEDIE FRANCAISE, CENTRAL PARK, and CRAZY HORSE.

Wiseman's work has been distributed in theatres and broadcast on television in many countries by his Cambridge, MA company, Zipporah Films www.zipporah.com