Wim Wenders
14.08.1945
Wim Wenders was born on August, 14th 1945 in Düsseldorf, Germany. He studied medicine and philosophy, and in 1967 enrolled in the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München in München. While studying he made a few short films. In 1970 he made his first feature film Summer in the City, which was also his final examination. In the film Die Angst des Tormannes beim Elfmeter (1971) he began his collaboration with the actor Rüdiger Vogler, who often represented the author’s alter ego. In the period from 1968 to 1971 he intensively wrote and published many articles covering all segments of culture. With his friend Rainer Werner Fassbinder, another famous German director, and some other people he founded the Filmverlag der Autoren, an organization of film authors with a simple goal in mind – to make films. In 1974 he founded the Wim Wenders produktion and in 1976 the production company Road Movies Filmproduktion. Towards the end of 70’s he accepted the invitation by Francis Ford Coppola to direct the film Hammet, inspired by the life of the American writer Dashiell Hammett. During his stay in the US, Wenders made films such as Lightning over Water (1980) – a portrait of his film idol Nicholas Ray, and the acclaimed and awarded Paris, Texas (1984). For his film Der Himmel über Berlin (1987) he won the award for the best director in Cannes in 1987. He shot the controversial film Bis ans Ende der Welt in 1991. In 1993 he made Faraway, So Close, a sequel to Der Himmel über Berlin, and a year later Lisbon Story, which achieved a cult status in many European countries. Then followed the acclaimed The End of Violence (1997) as well as the appraised and awarded documentary Buena Vista Social Club (1999), which was also nominated for an Oscar. In 2000 he won the Silver Bear in Berlin for the film The Million Dollar Hotel. Beside directing music documentary and short films he continues directing feature films: Land of Plenty (2004), Don't Come Knocking (2005) and Palermo Shooting (2008). Pina (2011), 3D music documentary about famous coreographer Pina Bausch is his currently last film. Wenders was awarded with the honorary doctorate of the University of Sorbonne in Paris. From 1991 to 1996 he was the chairman of the European film Academy. Since 1993, he was teacher at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München in München and since 2003. he teaches in Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg.
Filmography
The Salt of the Earth (Juliano Ribeiro Salgado & Wim Wenders, 2014)
Pina (2011)
If Buildings Could Talk (short) (2010)
8 (segment Person to Person) (2008)
Palermo Shooting (2008)
Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence (segment War in Peace) (2007)
Invisibles (documentary) (segment Invisible Crimes) (2007)
Don't Come Knocking (2005)
Land of Plenty (2004)
The Blues (documentary TV series, sequel The Soul of a Man) (2003)
The Soul of a Man (documentary) (2003)
Other Side of the Road (short) (2003)
U2: The Best of 1990-2000 (documentary) (video Stay Faraway, So Close!, video The Ground Beneath Her Feet) (2002)
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (segment Twelve Miles to Trona) (2002)
Ode to Cologne: A Rock 'N' Roll Film (documentary) (2002)
The Million Dollar Hotel (2000)
Buena Vista Social Club (documentary) (1999)
Willie Nelson at the Teatro (documentary) (1998)
The End of Violence (1997)
Die Gebrüder Skladanowsky (feature-documentary) (1995)
Lumière et compagnie (documentary) (1995)
Al di là delle nuvole (1995)
Priča iz Lisabona (Lisbon Story, 1994)
In weiter Ferne, so nah! (1993)
Arisha, der Bär und der steinerne Ring (short) (1992)
Bis ans Ende der Welt (1991)
Red Hot and Blue (segment Night and Day) (1990)
Aufzeichnungen zu Kleidern und Städten (documentary) (1989)
Der Himmel über Berlin (1987)
Tokyo-Ga (documentary) (1985)
Docu Drama (1984)
Paris, Texas (1984)
Hammett (1982)
Reverse Angle (documentary) (1982)
Chambre 666 (aka. Room 666) (documentary)Der Stand der Dinge (1982)
Lightning Over Water ((aka. Nick's Film - Lightning over Water) (1980)
Der Amerikanische Freund (1977)
Im Lauf der Zeit (1976)
Falsche Bewegung (1974)
Alice in den Städten (1974)
The Island (aka. From the Family of Reptiles (short) (1974)
Der Scharlachrote Buchstabe (1972)
Die Angst des Tormannes beim Elfmeter (1971)
Summer in the City (1970)
Alabama: 2000 Light Years (short) (1969)
3 American LP's (short) (1969)
Silver City (short) (1969)
Klappenfilm (short) (1968)
Same Player Shoots Again (short) (1968)
Polizeifilm (short) 1968)
Victor I. (short) (1968)
Schauplätze (short) (1967)