The Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) is organizing the exhibition “Wim Wenders – King of the Road – The India Tour”, on the occasion of the German director’s first visit to India at the age of 79. The retrospective, organized in collaboration with the Wim Wenders Foundation and the Goethe-Institut Mumbai, will He showed 18 of his works in five cities from February 5 to 23.
The program spans 50 years of Wenders’ career, from his beginnings in New German Cinema to his more recent works, which includes restored prints from feature films, documentaries and shorts. Cities on the tour include Mumbai, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkata and New Delhi, where Wenders will attend screenings and engage in Q&As with audiences and film students.
“It seems amazing that India has somehow fallen off the map,” Wenders said of his extensive global travels. “Not only is it a country with an abundance of landscapes and images worth exploring, but also because it is a country where cinema is like a religion.”
The lineup includes his Palme d’Or winning film “Paris, Texas” (1984), the Oscar-nominated “Buena Vista Social Club” (1999), and “Wings of Desire” (1987), which earned him the Best Director award at Cannes. Wenders’s Oscar-nominated “Perfect Days” (2023) is not part of the retrospective, and his most recent work on view is the 3D documentary “Anselm” (2023) about the artist Anselm Kiefer.
FHF Director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur called the event “a dream come true,” noting that Wenders recently received the 2024 International Federation of Film Archives Award.
The free screenings will be conducted at various venues including Regal Cinema in Mumbai, Nandan Theater in Kolkata, and Habitat Center in New Delhi. The FHF has previously hosted retrospectives with filmmakers Giuseppe Tornatore and Christopher Nolan.
Björn Kittels, director of the Goethe-Institut Mumbai, highlighted Wenders’ importance as a pioneer of New German Cinema, calling this “the first time such a major showcase of his works has been given” in India.
Movies in retro:
“Goalkeeper’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick” (1971) – Vibreschi Prize, Venice Film Festival
“Alice in the Cities” (1973)
“Kings of the Road” (1975) – Fibreschi Prize, Cannes Film Festival
“American Friend” (1977) – German Critics’ Prize winner
“Lightning Over Water” (1980)
“Reverse Angle” (1982)
“Room 666” (1982)
“The State of Things” (1982) – Golden Lion, Venice Film Festival
“Paris, Texas” (1984) – Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival
“Tokyo Ga” (1985) – Best Film of the Year, London Film Festival
“Wings of Desire” (1987) – Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival
“Until the End of the World – Director’s Cut” (1994)
“The End of Violence” (1997)
“Buena Vista Social Club” (1999) – Academy Award nomination
“Million Dollar Hotel” (2000) – Jury Prize, Berlin Film Festival
“Don’t Come Knocking” (2005)
“Pena” (2011) – 3D documentary, Oscar nomination
“Anselm” (2023) – 3D documentary