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Wim Wenders

Directing

Born August 14, 1945 · Düsseldorf, Germany

Also known as Vimu Vendâsu · 文溫德斯 · 빔 벤더스

Biography

Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and playwright, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes, Venice and Berlin film festivals. He has also received a BAFTA Award and been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Grammy Award. Wenders made his feature film debut with Summer in the City (1970). He earned critical acclaim for directing the films Alice in the Cities (1974), The Wrong Move (1975), and Kings of the Road (1976), later known as the Road Movie trilogy. Wenders won the BAFTA Award for Best Direction and the Palme d'Or for Paris, Texas (1984) and the Cannes Film Festival Best Director Award for Wings of Desire (1987). His other notable films include The American Friend (1977), Faraway, So Close! (1993), and Perfect Days (2023). Wenders has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature: for Buena Vista Social Club (1999), Pina (2011), and The Salt of the Earth (2014). He received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video for Willie Nelson at the Teatro (1998). He is also known for directing the documentaries Tokyo-Ga (1985), The Soul of a Man (2003), and Pope Francis: A Man of His Word (2018). Wenders has been the president of the European Film Academy since 1996 and won an Honorary Golden Bear in 2015. He is an active photographer, emphasizing images of desolate landscapes. He is considered an auteur director. Description above from the Wikipedia article Wim Wenders, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Awards & recognition

  • German Film Honorary Award · 2026
  • Berliner Bär · 2024
  • European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award · 2024
  • Praemium Imperiale · 2022
  • Commander of the Order of Merit of Portugal · 2017
Show all 53 awards →
  • César AwardBest Documentary Film · 2015
  • César Award · 2015
  • Golden Bear · 2015
  • Honorary Golden Bear · 2015
  • François Chalais Prize · 2014
  • Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Cannes · 2014
  • Un certain regard Award · 2014
  • Ring of Honour of the city Wuppertal · 2012
  • European Film AwardBest Documentary · 2011
  • Herbert Strate Award · 2010
  • 5th Yerevan Golden Apricot International Film Festival · 2008
  • Goya AwardBest Documentary Film · 2008
  • Goya Awards · 2008
  • Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany · 2006
  • Pour le MériteSciences and Arts order · 2006
  • Golden MedalMerit to Culture · 2005
  • Leopard of Honour · 2005
  • Helmut Käutner Prize · 2004
  • Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia · 2004
  • Robert-Bresson Award · 2002
  • Silver Bear · 2000
  • European Film AwardBest Documentary · 1999
  • Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix · 1993
  • Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres · 1993
  • honorary doctor of the Sorbonne Nouvelle University · 1989
  • European Film AwardBest Director · 1988
  • Cannes Best Director Award · 1987
  • BAFTA AwardBest Direction · 1985
  • FIPRESCI Prize of the Festival de Cannes · 1984
  • Palme d'Or · 1984
  • Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Cannes · 1984
  • Golden Lion · 1982
  • FIPRESCI Prize of the Festival de Cannes · 1976
  • MedalMerit to Culture
  • Order of Merit of Berlin
  • Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
  • Order of the Rising Sun
  • Pour le Mérite
  • Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Cannes
  • Academy AwardBest International Feature Film · 2024 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Documentary Feature Film · 2015 · nominated
  • European Film Award – People's Choice AwardBest European Film · 2015 · nominated
  • European Film AwardBest Documentary · 2011 · nominated
  • European Film AwardBest Director · 2005 · nominated
  • European Film AwardBest Film · 2005 · nominated
  • European Film AwardBest Documentary · 1999 · nominated
  • European Film AwardBest Director · 1988 · nominated
  • European Film AwardBest Film · 1988 · nominated

Filmography50+ titles

The Salt of the Earth

2014as Self

Paris, Texas

1984Director, Producer

Reality Winner

2021Executive Producer

Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer

2022as Self

Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You: A Concert for Kate McGarrigle

2012Executive Producer

Perfect Days

2023Director, Producer, Screenplay

Film: The Living Record of Our Memory

2021as Self

Wings of Desire

1987Director, Producer, Screenplay

The Story of Film: An Odyssey

2011as Self

Alice in the Cities

1974as Man by Jukebox in American Cafe (uncredited)

Autoluminescent: Rowland S. Howard

2011as Self

Buena Vista Social Club

1999Director, Screenplay

Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers

1980Additional Camera

Buena Vista Social Club: Adios

2017Executive Producer

Pina

2011Director, Producer, Screenplay

Kings of the Road

1976as Spectator at Pauline's Theater (uncredited)

Songs of Earth

2023Executive Producer

Pope Francis: A Man of His Word

2018as Self - Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Stories We Tell

2012Thanks

Tokyo-Ga

1985Director, Editor, Producer, Writer

The American Friend

1977as Figure Wrapped in Plaster Bandages in Ambulance (uncredited)

Little Hands

2018Executive Producer

Beyond the Bolex

2018as Self

Along for the Ride

2016as Self

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction

2012as Self

Chocolat

1988Co-Producer

City of Angels

1998Original Film Writer

Anselm

2023Director, Producer, Writer

Living the Light: Robby Müller

2018as Self

National Bird

2016Executive Producer

Until the End of the World

1991Co-Producer, Director, Screenplay, Story

Lightning Over Water

1980as Self

Wrong Move

1975as Man in Dining Car (uncredited)

A Fuller Life

2013as Self - Reader (segment "A River of Tears")

Room 666

1985as Self

Hammett

1982Director

Palermo Shooting

2008Director, Producer, Writer

Don't Come Knocking

2005Director, Executive Producer, Writer

Our Last Tango

2015Executive Producer

Mutiny in Heaven: The Birthday Party

2023Producer

The Million Dollar Hotel

2000Director, Producer

Speaking Parts

1990Thanks

The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick

1972as Man Walking through Vienna Bus Station (uncredited)

Karen Dalton: In My Own Time

2020Executive Producer

Waiting for the Miracle to Come

2018Executive Producer

Dennis Hopper: Uneasy Rider

2016as Self

The Clone Returns Home

2008Executive Producer

Radio On

1979Associate Producer

Room 999

2023as Self

Submergence

2017Director