In Jackson Heights


In Jackson Heights is a 2015 documentary film about the communities of Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City directed by Frederick Wiseman. The film received widespread critical acclaim. In 2017, the film was considered the thirteenth "Best Film of the 21st Century So Far" by The New York Times.

Synopsis

The film documents events in Jackson Heights including "a Muslim school, a Jewish center, a meeting of gay and transgender people, a City Council office and the local headquarters of Make the Road New York, an activist organization dedicated to Latino and working-class people."

Release

Critical response

In Jackson Heights has received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 95%, based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 81 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
In a review for the Los Angeles Times, Michael Phillips wrote that "True to Wiseman's form, In Jackson Heights contains no on-screen identification of camera subjects, no voice-over narration and little in the way of overt polemics. By the end, you arrive at the essential paradox found in every Wiseman portrait: a clear sense of just how cloudy our world and our environments have become." Writing for The New York Times, Manohla Dargis stated that "Mr. Wiseman’s latest documentary is a movingly principled, political look at a dynamic neighborhood in which older waves of make room for new, amid creeping gentrification."
In Peter Bradshaw's review for The Guardian, he described it as "an engaging portrait — film-making which works from the ground up."

Accolades

AwardSubjectNomineeResult
Chicago International Film FestivalBest DocumentaryFrederick WisemanNominated
Cinema Eye HonorsOutstanding Achievement in DirectionFrederick WisemanNominated
Indiewire Critics' PollBest Documentary3rd Place
International Cinephile Society AwardsBest Documentary2nd Place
International Online Cinema AwardsBest DocumentaryFrederick Wiseman3rd Place
BFI London Film FestivalDocumentary FilmFrederick WisemanNominated
National Society of Film Critics AwardsBest Non-Fiction Film2nd Place
New York Film Critics Circle AwardsBest Non-Fiction Film
Venice International Film FestivalQueer LionNominated
Village Voice Film PollBest Documentary4th Place

Box office

As of 4 November 2016, the film has grossed $121,094 at the box office.