At Berkeley

Filmmaker Fredrick Wiseman (Crazy Horse) – now above the age of 80 – directs this four-hour examination of the cultural and ideological conflicts residing in the classes and lecture halls between teachers, administrators and students of the great public university.

"Berkeley has a storied reputation as a battleground for free speech. Today, the school attracts highprofile professors such as Robert Reich (the former US Secretary of Labor, who Wiseman captures lecturing on "self-evaluation"), and pursues cutting-edge research that earns vital revenue. But cutbacks are felt throughout the school, down to a landscaping staff with only one person left to mow the lawns. Wiseman practices his craft with great subtlety. As viewers, we're dropped into situations and left to figure out what's going on and how we feel about it. One recurring figure is the white-haired university chancellor, Robert J. Birgeneau (who previously served as University of Toronto president). In one memorable scene, Birgeneau contrasts his own student days confronting authority to the demands of this new generation. It's a classic Wiseman moment: candid and open to interpretation." (Toronto International Film Festival)

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