2025 Filmmaker in Residence
Crashing the boundary between art and action, in 1977 radical feminist Mierle Laderman Ukeles became the first artist-in-residence at NYC’s Department of Sanitation, collaborating with the municipal workers who maintain our urban spaces, and advancing a vision for environmental sustainability. Daughter of an Orthodox rabbi, Ukeles’ work is driven by a deeply humanistic reading of Jewish ritual and text. I MAKE MAINTENANCE ART is the first feature-length documentary about this visionary artist. With unprecedented access to the artist and never-before-seen archival material from her private collection, the film traces Ukeles’ career through her own creative journey, revealing it within the nexus of 1960s-70s feminism, budding environmental awareness, and the artistic revolution that nurtured it.
Toby Perl Freilich co-produced/co-directed MOYNIHAN, broadcast in 2024 on PBS’ American Masters series, and an L.A. Times Critic’s Pick. Freilich wrote/directed/produced INVENTING OUR LIFE: The Kibbutz Experiment, deemed “fascinating” by the NY Times. She co-produced and wrote the HBO/Cinemax feature documentary, SECRET LIVES: Hidden Children and Their Rescuers, for which she was nominated for a news and documentary Writing Emmy. Freilich was co-producer of the PBS Emmy-nominated RESISTANCE: Untold Stories of Jewish Partisans. She is a contributing writer to Tablet, Sh’ma, the Jewish Review of Books and the Forward, where she received a Rackower Award for excellence in Jewish Journalism.
Project description and bios courtesy of the Resident