by Frederick Wiseman
Jackson Heights in Queens, New York City, is one of the world’s most diverse city districts. Its residents represent the new wave of immigrants to the USA: people from every South American state, as well as from Mexico, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and China have found their way here. 167 different languages and dialects can be heard and members of every faith and denomination can be found in Jackson Heights. Frederick Wiseman, the grand master of observational cinema, casts his well-trained eye on the lives of the people in this district, be they in the grocers, the church, or on the street, where words such as ‘integration’, ‘marginalisation’ or ‘cultural differences’ are a day-to-day reality.