Wim Wenders facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders in 2024
Born	Ernst Wilhelm Wenders (1945-08-14) 14 August 1945 (age 80) Düsseldorf, Germany
Occupation	Film director screenwriter producer photographer author
Years active	1967–present
Spouse(s)	Edda Köchl (1968–1974) Lisa Kreuzer (1974–1978) Ronee Blakley (1979–1981) Isabelle Weingarten (1981–1982) Donata Wenders (1993–present)
Awards	Full list

Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (born August 14, 1945) is a famous German filmmaker and photographer. He is a very important person in what is called the New German Cinema movement. He has won many awards from big film festivals like Cannes, Venice, and Berlin. He has also won a BAFTA Award and been nominated for three Academy Awards (Oscars) and a Grammy Award.

Wenders made his first full-length movie, Summer in the City, in 1970. He became well-known for directing films like Alice in the Cities (1974), The Wrong Move (1975), and Kings of the Road (1976). These three movies are often called his Road Movie trilogy. Wim Wenders won the BAFTA Award for Best Direction and the top prize, the Palme d'Or, for his film Paris, Texas (1984). He also won the Best Director Award at Cannes for Wings of Desire (1987). Some of his other famous films include The American Friend (1977), Faraway, So Close! (1993), and Perfect Days (2023).

Wenders has been nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (Best Documentary Oscar). These nominations were for Buena Vista Social Club (1999), Pina (2011), and The Salt of the Earth (2014). He was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Willie Nelson at the Teatro (1998). He is also known for directing other documentaries like Tokyo-Ga (1985), The Soul of a Man (2003), Pope Francis: A Man of His Word (2018), and Anselm (2023).

Wenders was the president of the European Film Academy from 1996 to 2020. In 2015, he received an Honorary Golden Bear award. He is also a talented photographer, often taking pictures of empty landscapes. He is seen as an auteur director, meaning he has a very strong personal style in his films.

Early Life and Education

Wim Wenders was born in Düsseldorf, Germany. His family was Catholic, and his father, Heinrich Wenders, was a surgeon. "Wim" is a shorter version of his birth name, "Wilhelm." As a child, Wenders would travel alone to Amsterdam to visit the Rijksmuseum, a famous art museum. He finished high school in Oberhausen.

After high school, he studied medicine at the University of Freiburg (1963–64) and philosophy at the University of Dusseldorf (1964–65). However, he decided to stop these studies and moved to Paris in 1966 to become a painter. He tried to get into France's national film school, IDHEC, but didn't pass the test. Instead, he worked as an engraver in a studio. During this time, he became very interested in movies, sometimes watching up to five films a day!

In 1967, Wenders returned to Germany, determined to make filmmaking his career. He worked at the United Artists office in Düsseldorf. That fall, he started studying at the University of Television and Film Munich (HFF). While studying there from 1967 to 1970, he also worked as a film critic for several newspapers and magazines.

Before graduating, Wenders made several short films. His graduation project was a black-and-white film called Summer in the City (1970), which became his first feature film.

Film Career

Early Films (1970–1976)

Wenders started his film career in the late 1960s, during the time of the New German Cinema. Many of his films have a special look because he worked for a long time with cinematographer Robby Müller. Wenders's first feature film, Summer in the City (1970), was his graduation project. It was shot in black-and-white and showed many of the themes that would become common in his later films: characters searching, running from problems, and wandering without a clear destination.

After that, Wenders directed The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty, based on a short novel. He also directed The Scarlet Letter (1973), which was a period drama based on a famous novel. From 1974 to 1976, Wenders directed his "Road Movie trilogy." The first film was Alice in the Cities (1974), followed by The Wrong Move (1975) and Kings of the Road (1976). Kings of the Road won an award at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival.

Becoming Famous (1977–1987)

Wim Wenders with actress Carrie Fisher in 1978

In 1977, Wenders became more widely known for directing The American Friend. This film starred Dennis Hopper and Bruno Ganz and was based on a novel. Critics compared it to other famous films, noting its dark, thoughtful, and movie-loving style.

Wenders received a lot of praise for his road drama Paris, Texas (1984). It starred Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, and Dean Stockwell. The film won the top prize, the Palme d'Or, at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival. A famous critic, Roger Ebert, said the film was "true, deep, and brilliant."

Next, Wenders directed the fantasy romance Wings of Desire (1987), starring Bruno Ganz and Peter Falk. It premiered at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, where Wenders won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director. The film was very popular with critics and was considered one of the best films of that year.

Later Career (1991–Present)

Wim Wenders at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival

In 1991, Wenders directed the science fiction adventure Until the End of the World. This film has been released in different versions, some very long. In 1993, he directed Faraway, So Close!, which was a sequel to Wings of Desire. Many of the original actors returned, and the film won an award at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. The next year, he directed Lisbon Story. In 1995, he directed A Trick of Light and was part of the film Lumière and Company.

In 1997, Wenders directed the American drama The End of Violence. This film did not receive good reviews and didn't do well at the box office.

Wenders has also directed several highly praised documentaries. These include Willie Nelson at the Teatro (1998), about music recording sessions. The next year, he directed Buena Vista Social Club, which was about Cuban music and was nominated for an Oscar. In 2002, he made a documentary about the German rock band BAP.

Wim Wenders in 2008

Wenders has directed music videos for bands like U2 and Talking Heads. He also directed a documentary-style film about the Skladanowsky brothers, who were early inventors of "moving pictures." In 2011, Wenders was chosen to direct a famous opera, but the project didn't happen because he wanted to film it in 3-D, which was too expensive.

In 2012, Wenders said he would only work in 3-D from then on. He had admired the dance choreographer Pina Bausch for a long time and felt that 3-D technology finally allowed him to capture her work properly in his film Pina.

In 2015, Wenders worked on a documentary about his own films, but it was not finished. He is also a member of the advisory board for the World Cinema Foundation, which helps find and restore old films from around the world.

Wim Wenders with his wife Donata at Berlinale 2017

In 2017, Wenders directed an opera in Berlin. In 2018, he said his favorite movie he ever made was his film about Pope Francis, Pope Francis: A Man of His Word. He felt that his whole career had led up to making that film. He greatly admires Pope Francis and believes he is doing his best in a difficult world. Wenders was raised Catholic but later became a Protestant.

In 2019, Wenders was an executive producer for a documentary called A Black Jesus. This film explored how religion affects community identity in a small Sicilian town during a time of refugee crisis. Wenders encouraged the film to be more symbolic and philosophical.

In 2025, Wenders made a short film called "The Keys to Freedom" in France. In the film, he visits a museum where General Eisenhower gave the keys of a liberated city to its mayor in 1945. Wenders commented that "These are the keys to the freedom of the world." He told The New York Times that young people should not take freedom for granted, as they might need to defend it in the future.

Photography

Wim Wenders is also a well-known photographer. His photos often show empty landscapes and explore ideas of memory, time, loss, and movement. He started a long-term photography project called "Pictures from the Surface of the Earth" in the early 1980s, which he continued for 20 years.

His first photo series for this project was called "Written in the West." He took these pictures while traveling across the American West to prepare for his film Paris, Texas (1984). This project led him to travel all over the world, including Germany, Australia, Cuba, Israel, and Japan, to capture the feeling of different places and moments.

Personal Life

Wim Wenders lives and works in Berlin with his wife, Donata. He has lived in Berlin since the mid-1970s. He is an ecumenical Christian, meaning he supports unity among different Christian churches. When he was a teenager, he wanted to become a Catholic priest. He is a fan of the German football club Borussia Dortmund.

In 2009, Wenders signed a petition supporting director Roman Polanski, who had been arrested while traveling to a film festival. The petition argued that arresting filmmakers at festivals could make these events less safe for showing films freely.

From 1979 to 1981, Wenders was married to the American actress and singer-songwriter Ronee Blakley.

Filmography

Films

Short Films

Feature Films

Documentaries

Short Documentaries

Documentary Films

TV Movies

TV Series

Other Works

TV Shorts

Music Videos

Commercials

Awards and Recognition

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2000	Academy Awards	Best Documentary Feature Film	Buena Vista Social Club	Nominated
2012			Pina	Nominated
2015			The Salt of the Earth	Nominated
2024		Best International Feature Film	Perfect Days	Nominated
2023	Asia Pacific Screen Awards	Best Feature Film		Won
2024	Asian Film Awards	Best Film		Nominated
1987	Bavarian Film Awards	Best Director	Wings of Desire	Won
1993			Faraway, So Close!	Won
1988	Belgian Film Critics Association	Grand Prix	Wings of Desire	Won
2024			Perfect Days	Nominated
2015	Berlin International Film Festival	Honorary Golden Bear	N/A	Won
1985	British Academy Film Awards	Best Direction	Paris, Texas	Won
1989		Best Film Not in the English Language	Wings of Desire	Nominated
2000			Buena Visa Social Club	Nominated
2012			Pina	Nominated
1984	Cannes Film Festival	Palme d'Or	Paris, Texas	Won
1987		Best Director	Wings of Desire	Won
1993		Grand Prix	Faraway, So Close!	Won
1978	César Awards	Best Foreign Film	The American Friend	Nominated
1985			Paris, Texas	Nominated
1988			Wings of Desire	Nominated
2015		Best Documentary Film	The Salt of the Earth	Won
2024		Best Foreign Film	Perfect Days	Nominated
1985	David di Donatello	Best Foreign Film	Paris, Texas	Nominated
2015			The Salt of the Earth	Nominated
1988	European Film Awards	European Film	Wings of Desire	Nominated
		European Director		Won
1999		European Documentary	Buena Visa Social Club	Won
2005		European Director	Don't Come Knocking	Nominated
2011		European Documentary	Pina	Won
2024		Lifetime Achievement Award	N/A	Honored
2017	Filmfest Hamburg	Douglas Sirk Award	N/A	Won
2001	Grammy Awards	Best Long Form Music Video	Teatro (Video)	Nominated
2004	International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg	Master of Cinema Award	N/A	Won
2024	Japan Academy Film Prize	Director of the Year	Perfect Days	Won
2005	Locarno Film Festival	Leopard of Honour	N/A	Won
2025	Order of the Rising Sun	4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette	N/A	Honored
1982	Venice Film Festival	Golden Lion	The State of Things	Won
2012	Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Documentary Screenplay	Pina	Nominated

Wenders has received special honorary degrees from universities in Paris (1989), Switzerland (1995), and Belgium (2005). The Wim Wenders Foundation was started in Düsseldorf in 2012. This foundation helps keep his films, photos, art, and writings together in Germany so that people can always see them. In 2016, he received a major cultural award from the Sparkassen Culture-Foundation Rhineland.

Exhibitions

1986–1992

• Written in the West, with the book, Written in the West, Munich: Schirmer/Mosel (1987)

1993–1995

• Wim Wenders Photo Exhibition, with the book, Once, Munich: Schirmer/ Mosel (2001)

2004

• Pictures from the Surface of the Earth, Australia and Japan, James Cohan Gallery, New York
• Between The Lines, group exhibition, James Cohan Gallery, New York

2006

• Wim Wenders: Immagini dal pianeta terra, Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, Italy
• Journey to Onomichi – Photos by Wim and Donata Wenders, Omotesando Hills, Tokyo, Japan

2011

• Places, strange and quiet, Haunch of Venison, London, UK

2012

• Places Strange and Quiet, Ostlicht. Galerie Für Fotografie, Vienna, AT
• Places, strange and quiet, Harald Falckenberg Exhibition Space, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, DE
• Wim Wenders: Pictures from the Surface of the Earth, Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow, RU

2014

• Wim Wenders: Places Strange & Quiet, GL Strand, Copenhagen, DK
• Wim Wenders: Urban Solitude, Palazzo Incontro, Rome, IT

2015

• Wim Wenders: America, Villa e collezione la Panza, Varese, IT
• "In broad daylight even the sounds shine. Wim Wenders scouting in Portugal", curated by Anna Duque y González and Laura Schmidt Reservatório da Mãe d'Água das Amoreiras, Lisbon

2016

• "The Space Between the Characters Can Carry the Load", Collection Ivo Wessel, Weserburg Museum for modern Art, Bremen, DE

2017/2018

• "Instant Stories/Wim Wenders' Polaroids", The Photographers' Gallery, London, from October 20, 2017 to February 11, 2018.

Installation Art

2019

• (E)motion

2020

• Two or Three Things I Know About Edward Hopper

2022

• Presence, with Claudine Drai

See also

In Spanish: Wim Wenders para niños

• BlainSouthern
• James Cohan Gallery
• Jerusalem 2111