Frederick Wiseman’s latest documentary MONROVIA, INDIANA will open theatrically in Indiana starting on Friday, Nov. 2. Founded in 1834, Monrovia, Ind. has a population of 1,063 people and operates primarily as a farming community. The film focuses on the day-to-day experiences of living and working in Monrovia, with emphasis on community organizations and institutions, religion and daily life.   Playdates include: Friday, Nov. 2 Columbus, Ind. at Yes Cinema Mooresville, Ind. at Showplace Theatre Shelbyville, Ind. at Studio 10 Indianapolis at Keystone Art Cinema Fort Wayne, Ind. at Fort Wayne Cinema Center Notre Dame, Ind. at Debartolo Center   Monday, Nov. 5 Bloomington, Ind. at IU Cinema Portage, Ind. at Portage 16 West Lafayette, Ind. at Wabash Landing 9 Lebanon, Ind. at Lebanon 7 Lafayette, Ind. at Lafayette 7 Huntington, Ind. at Huntington 7 Brownsburg, Ind. at Brownsburg 8   Friday, Nov. 9 Bloomington, Ind. at Ryder Film Series   Wednesday, Dec. 5 Nashville, Ind. at Brown County Playhouse   On his inspiration for the film Wiseman stated: “I thought a film about a small farming community in the Midwest would be a good addition to the series I have been doing on contemporary American life. Life in big American cities, on the east and west coasts, is regularly reported on and I was interested in learning more about life in small town America and sharing my view.”   Forty-six million Americans live in rural, small town America. These towns were once the backbone of American life. While their number and populations have shrunk, the importance of rural America as a formative center of American politics and values was demonstrated in the 2016 presidential election. To understand more about American life, it is important acknowledge the unique and important contributions small towns make to American character and culture, in addition to providing most of our food, raw materials and drinking water.   The film explores the conflicting stereotypes and illustrates how values like community service, duty, spiritual life, generosity and authenticity are formed, experienced and lived. The film gives a complex and nuanced view of daily life in Monrovia and provides some understanding of a rural, mid-American way of life that has always been important in America but whose influence and force have not always been recognized or understood in the big cities on the east and west coasts of America and in other countries.   Since 1967, Frederick Wiseman has directed 42 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, CENTRAL PARK, BALLET, LA COMEDIE FRANCAISE, CRAZY HORSE, AT BERKELEY, NATIONAL GALLERY, IN JACKSON HEIGHTS, and EX LIBRIS - THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY. He has directed one fiction film, THE LAST LETTER (2002). His films are exhibited in theatres and broadcast on television in many countries. A full list can be found here: Zipporah.com/films.   Frederick Wiseman received his BA from Williams College in 1951 and his LLB from Yale Law School in 1954. He has received honorary doctorates from Bowdoin College, Princeton University, and Williams College, among others. He is a MacArthur Fellow, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. He has won numerous awards, including four Emmys. He is also the recipient of the Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Film Society (2013), the George Polk Career Award (2006), the American Society of Cinematographers Distinguished Achievement Award (2006) and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement from the Venice Film Festival (2014). In 2016, he received an Honorary Award from the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He was a Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard University in 2018.   Additional markets will continue to roll out in November and December. Following Venice, the film also played at the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival.   ABOUT ZIPPORAH FILMS Zipporah Films, Inc. is the distribution and production company of Frederick Wiseman’s films. Located in Cambridge, MA, the company oversees the theatrical, festival, broadcast, DVD and film releases and supports the production of each Wiseman film.   MONROVIA, INDIANA Documentary/ Feature/ Running time: 143 minutes   Production funding for the film is provided by: Corporation for Public Broadcasting JustFilms / Ford Foundation Public Broadcasting Service Pershing Square LEF Moving Image Fund Utah Film Center