High School

High School is a 1968 American documentary film directed by Frederick Wiseman that shows a typical day for a group of students at Northeast High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was one of the first direct cinema (or cinéma vérité) documentaries. It was shot over five weeks in March and April 1968. The film was not shown in Philadelphia at the time of its release, due to Wiseman's concerns over what he called "vague talk" of a lawsuit. The film was released in October 1968 by Wiseman's distribution company, Zipporah Films. High School has been aired on PBS Television. Wiseman distributes his work (DVDs and 16mm prints) through Zipporah Films, which rents them to high schools, colleges, and libraries on a five-year long-term lease. High School was selected in 1991 for preservation in the National Film Registry. Wiseman made a second documentary on high school, High School II, based on Central Park East Secondary School in New York City, released in 1994.