This documentary captures a summer day in New York’s iconic park, showing how diverse communities share 840 acres of public space. It follows runners, picnickers, musicians, dancers, tourists, gardeners, and staff, creating a vibrant mosaic of civic life. Wiseman also examines the administrative work behind the scenes—fundraising meetings, board discussions, maintenance crews, and policy debates. From a Pride parade to an AIDS quilt tribute, the film highlights the park as a living symbol of democracy, labor, joy, grief, and urban ritual.

Frederick Wiseman’s Central Park is a vibrant celebration of 843 acres of green space in the heart of Manhattan. It captures the endless ways New Yorkers use the city’s most beloved landmark: running, boating, skating, enjoying cultural events, and playing sports. The film also reveals the intricate work of the park’s stewards, who maintain, preserve, and keep this vital space open and accessible to all.

The film becomes both a portrait of New York and a guide to what the park means to so many different people. It’s at once a laboratory for birdwatchers and gardeners, a public refuge for exiles and artists, and a stage for boat races, marathons, and concerts. Here, the city comes to rest, to heal, to train, and to play. Wiseman overlays these countless perspectives onto a single cinematic canvas, assembling a Cubist vision of the park’s life. His creative imagination turns this urban space into an artistic narrative, offering a rare vision of public life at its most democratic. Central Park stands as a joyful testament to the vast, shared possibilities a city can hold—by making room for everyone.

• ProducerFrederick WISEMAN
• Screenplay John DAVEY
• Edit Frederick WISEMAN
• Sound Frederick WISEMAN

Zipporah Films​