Wim Wenders
Biography
Wim Wenders is a German filmmaker and playwright, a major figure in New German Cinema. He was born on August 14, 1945, in Düsseldorf, Germany. Wenders made his feature film debut with Summer in the City in 1970. He directed the Road Movie trilogy, consisting of Alice in the Cities, The Wrong Move, and Kings of the Road. Wenders received critical acclaim for these films. He has also directed Paris, Texas, for which he won the Palme d'Or and the BAFTA Award for Best Direction. Wenders has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Grammy Award. He has received prizes from the Cannes, Venice, and Berlin film festivals.
Career overview
Wim Wenders is a German filmmaker and playwright who has made significant contributions to New German Cinema. His feature film debut was with Summer in the City in 1970. Wenders' early work received critical acclaim, particularly for the films Alice in the Cities, The Wrong Move, and Kings of the Road, which are collectively known as the Road Movie trilogy.
Wenders' career continued to flourish with the release of Paris, Texas in 1984, for which he won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. This achievement is notable among his numerous accolades, which also include a BAFTA Award for Best Direction. Wenders' work has been recognized at several prominent film festivals, including Cannes, Venice, and Berlin.
Throughout his career, Wenders has directed a large number of films, with a total of 266 known credits. Born on August 14, 1945, in Düsseldorf, Germany, Wenders has established himself as a major figure in the world of cinema. His dedication to his craft has resulted in a body of work that continues to be celebrated and studied by film enthusiasts and scholars alike.
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Full filmography
- I'll Be Gone in June (2026) Producer
- Das Geheimnis der Orte (2026) Director
- Das Geheimnis der Orte (2026) Writer
- Mein liebster Dokumentarfilm (2026) as Self
- From Darkness to Light (2025) Executive Producer
- The Keys to Freedom (2025) as Wim Wenders
- The Keys to Freedom (2025) Director
- The Keys to Freedom (2025) Writer
- Wim Wenders: Der ewig Suchende (2025) as Self
- Films to Die For (2025) as Self - Interviewee
- The Ozu Diaries (2025) as Self
- La nostra magnifica ossessione - Bernardo Bertolucci e la sua generazione (2025)
- Now is Now: Wim Wenders on 'Perfect Days' (2024) as Self
- Perfect Days (2023) Producer
- Perfect Days (2023) Director
- Perfect Days (2023) Screenplay
- German Genius (2023) as Wim Wenders
- Cannes Uncut (2023) as Self
- Some Body Comes Into the Light (2023) Director
- Some Body Comes Into the Light (2023) Producer
- Anselm (2023) Director
- Anselm (2023) Writer
- Anselm (2023) Producer
- Room 999 (2023) as Self
- Directors Talks (2023) as Self
- Songs of Earth (2023) Executive Producer
- An Endless Sunday (2023) Co-Producer
- Mutiny in Heaven: The Birthday Party (2023) Producer
- CAN and Me (2022) as Self
- From Our Side (2022)
- Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer (2022) as Self
- Bruno Ganz - The Longing Revolutionary (2022) as Self
- Film: The Living Record of Our Memory (2022) as Self
- Die 2050er - Everything will change (2022)
- Roving Woman (2022) Executive Producer
- Come with Me to the Cinema – The Gregors (2022) as Self
- Présence (2022) Director
- Now (2021) as Self
- Reality Winner (2021) Executive Producer
- A Life for Movies: Lotte Eisner (2021) as Self
- Why Are We (Not) Creative? (2021) as Self
- Karen Dalton: In My Own Time (2021) Executive Producer
- Souad (2021) Co-Producer
- Wim Wenders - Von Filmen und Träumen (2020) as Self
- High Maintenance (2020) as Self
- Wim Wenders, Desperado (2020) as Self
- Two or Three Things I Know about Edward Hopper (2020) Writer
- Two or Three Things I Know about Edward Hopper (2020) Executive Producer
- Two or Three Things I Know about Edward Hopper (2020) Director
- Two or Three Things I Know about Edward Hopper (2020) Producer
- Good Morning, the Wind Blows (2020) as Self
- Veränderung (2020) as Self
- Veränderung (2020) Director
- Veränderung (2020) Writer
- A Black Jesus (2020) Producer
- Zeroville (2019) as Larry
- Paul Auster: What If (2019) as Self - Filmmaker
- Waiting for the Miracle to Come (2019) Executive Producer
- Why Are We Creative? (2018) as Self
- Pope Francis: A Man of His Word (2018) as Self - Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
- Pope Francis: A Man of His Word (2018) Director
- Pope Francis: A Man of His Word (2018) Producer
- Pope Francis: A Man of His Word (2018) Writer
- Submergence (2018) Director
- Beyond the Bolex (2018) as Self
- Was tut sich - im deutschen Film? (2018) as Self
- Little Hands (2018) Executive Producer
- Leçon de cinéma avec Wim Wenders (2018) as Self - filmmaker
- It Must Schwing: The Blue Note Story (2018) Executive Producer
- Living the Light: Robby Müller (2018) as Self
- Plankton Salesmen (2017) as Self (archive footage)
- Water and Sugar – Carlo Di Palma: The Colours of Life (2017) as Self
- Buena Vista Social Club: Adios (2017) Executive Producer
- The Trial: The State of Russia vs Oleg Sentsov (2017) as Self
- Three for the Road (2016) as Self
- National Bird (2016) Executive Producer
- Along for the Ride (2016) as Self
- Dennis Hopper: Uneasy Rider (2016) as Self
- The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez (2016) Director
- The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez (2016) Writer
- The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez (2016) Producer
- Every Thing Will Be Fine (2015) Director
- Filmstudio, mon amour (2015) as Sé stesso
- French Cinema Mon Amour (2015) as Self
- A Weekend at the Beach (2015) as Self
- The Legend of the Palme d'Or (2015) as Self
- Restoring Time (2015) as Self
- Our Last Tango (2015) Executive Producer
- Chris Marker: Never Explain, Never Complain (2015) as Self
- Was heißt hier Ende? Der Filmkritiker Michael Althen (2015) as Self
- Return to Beethoven Street: Sam Fuller in Germany (2015) as Self
- The Salt of the Earth (2014) as Self
- The Salt of the Earth (2014) Director
- The Salt of the Earth (2014) Writer
- The Salt of the Earth (2014) Still Photographer
- The Salt of the Earth (2014) Executive Producer
- Henri Langlois vu par... (2014) as Self
- Henri Langlois vu par... (2014) Director
- Cathedrals of Culture (2014) Director
- Cathedrals of Culture (2014) Writer
- Cathedrals of Culture (2014) Executive Producer
- Cathedrals of Culture: Halden Prison (2014) Executive Producer
- The Berlin Philharmonic (2014) Director
- A Fuller Life (2013) as Self - Reader (segment "A River of Tears")
- Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (2013) as Self
- Invisible World (2013) Director
- Invisible World (2013) Writer
- Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You: A Concert for Kate McGarrigle (2013) Executive Producer
- Über Gott, Alfi und Mexico (2013) Producer
- Stories We Tell (2012) Thanks
- BAM150 (2012) as Self
- Close Up (2012) as Self (archive footage)
- Edward Hopper and the Blank Canvas (2012) as Self
- Der fremde Fotograf und die Einsamkeit (2012) Script Supervisor
- Ver ou Não Ver (2012) Director
- Hitler in Hollywood (2011) as Wim Wenders
- Schawinski (2011) as Self
- The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011) as Self
- Autoluminescent: Rowland S. Howard (2011) as Self
- Viaggio in Bergmania (2011) as Self
- Pina (2011) Director
- Pina (2011) Screenplay
- Pina (2011) Producer
- Mondo Lux: The Visual Worlds of Werner Schroeter (2011) as Self
- Zwischen den Zeiten (2011)
- Harry Dean Stanton: Crossing Mulholland (2011)
- Westpol (2010) as self
- Snowblind (2010) as Gray Fox
- Il Volo (2010) Director
- Il Volo (2010) Writer
- Au Revoir Taipei (2010) Executive Producer
- Cronología (2010)
- If Buildings Could Talk (2010) Director
- If Buildings Could Talk (2010) Writer
- What Do You Know About Me (2009) as Self
- The Open Road (2009) Executive Producer
- Passage (2009) Thanks
- Palermo Shooting (2008) Director
- Palermo Shooting (2008) Writer
- Palermo Shooting (2008) Producer
- One Who Set Forth: Wim Wenders' Early Years (2008) as Self
- 8 (2008) Director
- 8 (2008) Writer
- Back to Room 666 (2008) as Self
- Effedia - Sulla mia cattiva strada (2008) as Self
- Auge in Auge - Eine deutsche Filmgeschichte (2008) as Self
- Counter Shot: Departure of the Filmmakers (2008) as Self
- The Clone Returns Home (2008) Executive Producer
- Wim Wenders' Story Of His Early Years (2008) as Self
- Cannes: All Access (2007) as Self
- Dickes B (2007) as Self
- To Each His Own Cinema (2007) Director
- Invisible Crimes (2007) Director
- Invisibles (2007) Director
- Invisibles (2007) Writer
- The Way I Spent the End of the World (2006) Associate Producer
- The House Is Burning (2006) Executive Producer
- Still Alive: A Film About Krzysztof Kieslowski (2006) as Self
- The Art of Football from A to Z (2006) as Self
- Egoshooter (2005) Producer
- Don't Come Knocking (2005) Director
- Don't Come Knocking (2005) Writer
- Don't Come Knocking (2005) Executive Producer
- Kulturplatz (2004) as Self
- Im Palais (2004) as Self
- Leçon de Cinéma (2004) as Self
- Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-Screen (2004) as Self
- Half the Rent (2004) Producer
- Land of Plenty (2004) Director
- Land of Plenty (2004) Screenplay
- Música Cubana (2004) Producer
- Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments (2004) as Self
- La torcedura (2004)
- La torcedura (2004) Producer
- ZIBB (2003) as Self
- The Blues (2003) Writer
- The Blues (2003) Director
- Fools (2003) Producer
- Fools (2003) Producer
- The Soul of a Man (2003) Director
- The Soul of a Man (2003) Writer
- The Soul of a Man (2003) Camera Operator
- Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die) (2003) as Self
- Wings of Desire: The Angels Among Us (2003) as Self
- BAP - Ode to Cologne (2002) Director
- BAP - Ode to Cologne (2002) Writer
- Three Days of Rain (2002) Presenter
- Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002) as Doctor #1 (segment "Twelve Miles to Trona")
- Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002) Director
- Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002) Writer
- Fassbinder in Hollywood (2002) as Self
- June Moon (2002) Producer
- Janela da Alma (2001) as Self
- The Million Dollar Hotel (2000)
- The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) Director
- The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) Producer
- FreeDogme (2000) as himself
- In the Shadow of Hollywood (2000) Archival Footage Research
- One Morning All Over the World (2000) Director
- Volle Kanne (1999) as Self
- Buena Vista Social Club (1999) Director
- Buena Vista Social Club (1999) Screenplay
- The Johannes B. Kerner Show (1998) as Self
- Sabine Christiansen (1998) as Self
- City of Angels (1998) Original Film Writer
- Millionär gesucht! - Die SKL Show (1998) as Self
- Alekan le magnifique (1998) as Self
- Willie Nelson at the Teatro (1998) Director
- Willie Nelson at the Teatro (1998) Writer
- Im Dialog (1997) as self
- Nachtstudio (1997) as Self
- The End of Violence (1997) Producer
- The End of Violence (1997) Director
- The End of Violence (1997) Story
- Tango Berlin (1997)
- Go for Gold! (1997) Producer
- Love in Hollywood (1996) as Self
- Die Harald Schmidt Show (1995) as Self
- A Trick of the Light (1995) as Regisseur / Milchmann
- A Trick of the Light (1995) Director
- A Trick of the Light (1995) Writer
- A Trick of the Light (1995) Producer
- Beyond the Clouds (1995) Screenplay
- Beyond the Clouds (1995) Still Photographer
- Beyond the Clouds (1995) Co-Director
- Lumière & Company (1995) Director
- To Make a Film Is to Be Alive (1995) as Self (uncredited)
- The Night of the Filmmakers (1995) as Self
- In Bildern leben - Die filmischen Reflexionen des Wim Wenders (1995) as Self
- Kleiner Mann ganz groß (1994) as Self
- Lisbon Story (1994) Director
- Lisbon Story (1994) Screenplay
- Lisbon Story (1994) Producer
- Nick Cave: Straight To You - A Portrait (1994) as Self
- The Absence (1993) Producer
- Faraway, So Close! (1993) Director
- Faraway, So Close! (1993) Screenplay
- Faraway, So Close! (1993) Producer
- Arisha, the Bear, and the Stone Ring (1993) as Santa Claus
- Arisha, the Bear, and the Stone Ring (1993) Director
- Arisha, the Bear, and the Stone Ring (1993) Writer
- Arisha, the Bear, and the Stone Ring (1993) Producer
- Arisha, the Bear, and the Stone Ring (1993) Editor
- Talking with Ozu (1993) as Self
- Adamski (1993) Thanks
- Without Me (1993) as Himself
- Morgenmagazin (1992) as Self
- Riverboat (1992) as Self
- Until the End of the World (1991) Director
- Until the End of the World (1991) Co-Producer
- Until the End of the World (1991) Story
- Until the End of the World (1991) Screenplay
- Dream Island (1991)
- Dream Island (1991) Producer
- Speaking Parts (1990) Thanks
- Wim Wenders in Tokyo (1990) as Self
- Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter (1990) Director
- Pictures of Europe (1990) as Self
- Motion and Emotion: The Road to 'Paris, Texas' (1990) as Self
- Motion and Emotion: The Films of Wim Wenders (1990) as Self
- Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989) as Self
- Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989) Director
- Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989) Writer
- Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989) Producer
- Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989) Director of Photography
- The Heart and the Legs (1989) as Self
- Chocolat (1988) Co-Producer
- The Passenger – Welcome to Germany (1988) Consulting Producer
- Alekan, la lumière (1988) as Self
- Nachtcafé (1987) as Self
- Wings of Desire (1987) Director
- Wings of Desire (1987) Producer
- Wings of Desire (1987) Screenplay
- live - die ZDF-talkshow (1987) as Self
- Iron Earth, Copper Sky (1987) Producer
- Sansibar oder Der letzte Grund (1987) Sound Mix Technician
- Helsinki Napoli All Night Long (1987) as Gas Station Attendant
- Room 666 (1985) as Self
- Room 666 (1985) Director
- Room 666 (1985) Writer
- Tokyo-Ga (1985) Director
- Tokyo-Ga (1985) Writer
- Tokyo-Ga (1985) Producer
- Tokyo-Ga (1985) Editor
- King Kongs Faust (1985) as Regisseur
- Report from Hollywood (1985)
- I Played It for You (1985) Additional Photography
- Goldene Kamera (1984) as Self
- Paris, Texas (1984) Director
- Paris, Texas (1984) Producer
- Tausend Augen (1984) as Dieb im Videoladen
- De droomproducenten (1984) as Self
- Dennis Hopper's Russian Dynamite Death Chair Act (1983) as Himself
- Wortwechsel (1982) as Self
- Menschen (1982) as Self
- Hammett (1982) Director
- The State of Things (1982) as Tram Passenger (uncredited)
- The State of Things (1982) Director
- The State of Things (1982) Producer
- The State of Things (1982) Writer
- Cinéma cinémas (1982) Director
- Reverse Angle: New York, March 1982 (1982) as Self
- Reverse Angle: New York, March 1982 (1982) Director
- Reverse Angle: New York, March 1982 (1982) Writer
- Reverse Angle: New York, March 1982 (1982) Producer
- Cinématon n°212 : Wim Wenders (1982)
- Cinématon XXII (1982) as N°212
- Lightning Over Water (1980) as Self
- Lightning Over Water (1980) Director
- Lightning Over Water (1980) Writer
- Lightning Over Water (1980) Producer
- Lightning Over Water (1980) Editor
- Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980) Additional Camera
- NDR Talk Show (1979) as Self
- Bavarian Film Awards (1979) as Self
- Radio On (1979) Associate Producer
- ...als Diesel geboren (1979) Producer
- Nicholas Ray: Especially for Pierre (1979) Producer
- Nicholas Ray: Especially for Pierre (1979) Director of Photography
- Nicholas Ray: Especially for Pierre (1979) Sound
- Nicholas Ray: Especially for Pierre (1979) Camera Operator
- The Left-Handed Woman (1978) Producer
- Cinématon (1978) as N°212
- Long Shot (1978) as Another Director
- The American Friend (1977) as Figure Wrapped in Plaster Bandages in Ambulance (uncredited)
- The American Friend (1977) Director
- The American Friend (1977) Screenplay
- The American Friend (1977) Producer
- Kölner Treff (1976) as Self
- Kings of the Road (1976) as Spectator at Pauline's Theater (uncredited)
- Kings of the Road (1976) Director
- Kings of the Road (1976) Producer
- Kings of the Road (1976) Screenplay
- Signs of Vigorous Life: The New German Cinema (1976) as Self
- Midi Première (1975) as Self
- Wrong Move (1975) as Man in Dining Car (uncredited)
- Wrong Move (1975) Director
- Wrong Move (1975) Producer
- The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1975) as Man Walking through Vienna Bus Station (uncredited)
- The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1975) Director
- The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1975) Writer
- The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1975) Producer
- Spécial cinéma (1974) as Self
- Alice in the Cities (1974) as Man by Jukebox in American Cafe (uncredited)
- Alice in the Cities (1974) Director
- Alice in the Cities (1974) Screenplay
- Alice in the Cities (1974) Producer
- The Island (1974) Director
- Ein Haus für uns (1974) Director
- Ein bißchen Liebe (1974) Producer