Like the angels that hover watchfully over Berlin in his celebrated 1987 drama Wings of Desire, German director Wim Wenders has been a familiar and respected presence over the years at the Berlin International Film Festival. Pina, his documentary study of choreographer Pina Bausch, opened the festival in 2011; The Million Dollar Hotel, which included Mel Gibson in its cast, played in 2000; and Everything Will Be Fine, a drama shot in 3D and starring James Franco, was part of the fest’s 2015 lineup.
That same year, the festival lauded Wenders with its Honorary Golden Bear and screened a restored version of his 1977 feature The American Friend. Dieter Kosslick, fest director at the time, said of the celebrated auteur: “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.”
Just over a decade later, the festival is once again turning to Wenders, who will head the international jury at the fest’s 76th edition. “His insatiable curiosity and deep mastery of film language are evident in every work, whether he is exploring the gifts of other artists or illuminating our own search for meaning and connection,” testified the fest’s current director, Tricia Tuttle. “To say we are proud of this homegrown polymath is an understatement.”
For his part, Wenders claimed to be gobsmacked: “It never hit me to even remotely think about being jury president in my hometown. Until Tricia Tuttle asked me. And then I realized: Wow! That’ll be a whole new way to see films at the Berlinale — for once, watch each and every one in the competition and discuss them all in depth with a group of intelligent and movie-loving people. How good can it get? I’m grateful to Tricia for inviting me to this rare experience.
