Legendary Filmmaker Brings Latest Doc “Monrovia, Indiana” to Detroit, Michigan

The Detroit Film Theatre will screen the documentary by director Frederick Wiseman this weekend.

Detroit Film Theatre

Click on the audio player to listen. CultureShift airs weekdays at 12 p.m. on WDET 101.9FM Detroit’s public radio.

Each season at the Detroit Film Theatre, we check in with the theatre to find out more about the diverse array of films that play there.

The documentary Monrovia, Indiana is screening this weekend.

Directed by legendary documentarian Frederick Wiseman, Monrovia is about a town in Indiana with a population under 2,000.

CultureShift’s Ryan Patrick Hooper speaks with DFT curator Elliott Wilhelm to find out more about the film.

“(Wiseman) observes life in Monrovia in a number of different aspects. But, as always with Wiseman’s films, he never uses narration,” says Wilhelm. “He never uses words on the screen to tell you where you are or to pass judgement on anything. You watch, you listen, and you absorb and experience in life that you must glean from the actions, the sounds, the words of the people on the screen.”

Click the audio player above to hear the full conversation.

Author

  • Ryan Patrick Hooper
    Ryan Patrick Hooper is the award-winning host and producer of CultureShift on 101.9 WDET-FM Detroit’s NPR station. Hooper has covered stories for the New York Times, NPR, Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit, SPIN and Paste magazine.