22/08/2014 - The German filmmaker and EFA president will be the centre of the Homage at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival

The 65^th Berlin International Film Festival (5-15 February 2015) will present German veteran filmmaker and European Film Academy president Wim Wenders with the Honorary Golden Bear. The lifetime achievement prize, presented recently to filmmakers such as Ken Loach and Claude Lanzmann, is one of the highlights of the Berlinale.

The prize will be awarded in the course of a gala event on 12 February at the Berlinale Palast, before the special screening of one of his most important works, Wings of Desire (1987), starring Bruno Ganz and Peter Falk. In total, ten films from Wenders’ comprehensive feature and documentary film repertoire will be shown as part of the Homage.

Wenders came to prominence with his feature debut Summer in the City (1970). His international breakthrough followed with Alice in the Cities (1973) and Kings of the Road (1976), some of the most relevant movies to influence the so-called “New German Cinema”. Some years later, after having worked all around Europe and the US, he went on to win the Palme d’Or for his blunt, lyrical and moving masterpiece Paris, Texas (1984). Among the other recognitions his work has received at European festivals, it is worth noting the Best Director Award for Wings of Desire (1987) and the Special Jury Prize for Faraway, So Close! (1993) at Cannes, the Golden Lion for The State of Things (1982) at Venice, and the Silver Bear for The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) at Berlin. Wenders is also known for his film essays honouring cinema maestros (Nicholas Ray in Lightning Over Water, 1980; Yasujiro Ozu in Tokio-Ga, 1985) and for his documentary work, a field that boasts his most recent outings (Pina [+see also:
trailer
interview: Wim Wenders
film profile], 2011, and The Salt of the Earth [+see also:
trailer
film profile], 2014). He is currently readying his new fiction feature, Everything Will Be Fine, an English-language drama shot in 3D starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rachel McAdams and James Franco, among others. 

“In dedicating the Homage to Wim Wenders, we honour one of the most noted contemporary auteurs. His cross-genre and multifaceted work as a filmmaker, photographer and author has shaped our living memory of cinema, and continues to inspire other filmmakers,” said Dieter Kosslick, director of the Berlinale.