
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 Award — Best 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 Award — Best Documentary · 2011
- Herbert Strate Award · 2010
- 5th Yerevan Golden Apricot International Film Festival · 2008
- Goya Award — Best Documentary Film · 2008
- Goya Awards · 2008
- Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany · 2006
- Pour le Mérite — Sciences and Arts order · 2006
- Golden Medal — Merit 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 Award — Best 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 Award — Best Director · 1988
- Cannes Best Director Award · 1987
- BAFTA Award — Best 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
- Medal — Merit 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 Award — Best International Feature Film · 2024 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Documentary Feature Film · 2015 · nominated
- European Film Award – People's Choice Award — Best European Film · 2015 · nominated
- European Film Award — Best Documentary · 2011 · nominated
- European Film Award — Best Director · 2005 · nominated
- European Film Award — Best Film · 2005 · nominated
- European Film Award — Best Documentary · 1999 · nominated
- European Film Award — Best Director · 1988 · nominated
- European Film Award — Best Film · 1988 · nominated
Filmography50+ titles

The Salt of the Earth

Paris, Texas

Reality Winner

Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer

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

Perfect Days

Film: The Living Record of Our Memory

Wings of Desire

The Story of Film: An Odyssey

Alice in the Cities

Autoluminescent: Rowland S. Howard

Buena Vista Social Club

Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers

Buena Vista Social Club: Adios

Pina

Kings of the Road

Songs of Earth

Pope Francis: A Man of His Word

Stories We Tell

Tokyo-Ga

The American Friend

Little Hands

Beyond the Bolex

Along for the Ride

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction

Chocolat

City of Angels

Anselm

Living the Light: Robby Müller

National Bird

Until the End of the World

Lightning Over Water

Wrong Move

A Fuller Life

Room 666

Hammett

Palermo Shooting

Don't Come Knocking

Our Last Tango

Mutiny in Heaven: The Birthday Party

The Million Dollar Hotel

Speaking Parts

The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick

Karen Dalton: In My Own Time

Waiting for the Miracle to Come

Dennis Hopper: Uneasy Rider

The Clone Returns Home

Radio On

Room 999

Submergence