theOscarSite Facts:
Birth Name:
  • Ernst Wilhelm Wenders
Birth Date:
  • 14 August 1945
Birthplace:
  • Düsseldorf, Germany
Quote:
  • "Sex and violence was never really my cup of tea; I was always more into sax and violins."
Education:
  • After studying medicine and philosophy in Munich, Freiburg and Düsseldorf, he joined the Munich Academy for Television and Film in 1968.
Significant Others:
  • Wife: Edda Köchl, actress; 1968-74
  • Wife: Lisa Kreuzer, actress; 1974-78
  • Wife: Ronee Blakley, actress; 1979-81
  • Wife: Isabelle Weingarten, actress/photographer; 1981-82
  • Wife: Donata Schmidt, photographer; 1993-present
Factoids:
  • President of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival, 1989
  • President of the European Film Academy
Biography
by S.F. Said:
  • Art-house director best known for existential road movies with great soundtracks. Part of the New German Cinema of the 1970's, he later pioneered independent American film, inspiring Jarmusch among others. Wenders' films usually lack conventional narrative, relying instead on evocative ideas and atmospheres. KINGS OF THE ROAD made his reputation; PARIS, TEXAS was his finest vision of America; WINGS OF DESIRE - in which angels listen in to our thoughts - remains his most poetic work. Since then, his output's been disappointing, but as he showed in BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB, Wenders can still make movies that matter, given the right material.
Feature and Short Film
Credits:
  • 8 (2008, segment: "Person to Person"
    The Palermo Shooting (2008)
    Chacun son cinéma... (2007, segment: War in Peace")
    Invisibles (2007, segment: "Invisible Crimes")
    Don't Come Knocking (2004)
    Land of Plenty (2004)
    "The Blues" (2003, segment: "The Sould of a Man")
    Other Side of the Road (2003)
    "U2: The Best of 1990-2000" (2002, videos)
    Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002)
    Ode to Cologne: A Rock 'n' Roll Film (2002)
    The Million Dollar Hotel (2000)
    Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
    Willie Nelson at the Teatro (1998)
    The End of Violence (1997)
    Brothers Skladanowsky (1995)
    Lumière et compangie (1995)
    Beyond the Clouds (1995)
    Lisbon Story (1994)
    Faraway, So Close! (1993)
    Arisha, the Bear and the Stone Ring (1992)
    Until the End of the World (1991)
    Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989)
  • Wings of Desire (1987)
    Tokyo-Ga (1985)
    Docu Drama (1984)
    Paris, Texas (1984)
    The State of Things (1982)
    Hammett (1982)
    Lightning Over Water (1980)
    The American Friend (1977)
    Kings of the Road (1976)
    The Wrong Movement (1975)
    Alice in the Cities (1974)
    The Scarlet Letter (1972)
    The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penaly Kick (1971)
    Summer in the City (1970)
    Alabama: 2000 Light Years (1969)
    Silver City (1969)
    Klappenfilm (1968)
    Same Player Shoots Again (1968)
    Victor I. (1968)
    Schauplätze (1967)
Academy Awards®: