The angels who watch over films
 

PostED ON 17.10.2023

The co-directors of the Wim Wenders Foundation, Hella Wenders, Wim's niece, and Claire Brunel, guests of honour at the 11th International Classic Film Market, talk about the institution, the only one of its kind in the world.

Alice in the Cities, 1974 © Wim Wenders Stiftung

How did the idea for the foundation come about?

C.B and H.W. : Wim Wenders lost the rights to his films when Das Werk, a laboratory with which his company, Road Movies, had merged, went bankrupt. The creation of a foundation enabled him to recover all these rights with the help of the city of Düsseldorf, the Land of North-Westphalia and private donors. These rights belong to the foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to his work, photos, books, etc. We are still missing some titles, for example those of Hammett. The foundation's mission is to ensure that films are seen. It also offers scholarships to young filmmakers, who must be located in Germany; the funding comes from the region, we share our expertise, and Wim Wenders chairs the annual jury.

Do you also handle film restoration?

C.B and H.W. : Many films were restored in 2015, thanks to an agreement with German television for Wim's 70th birthday. Right now, we are restoring A Trick of Light, while the 4K version of Lightning Over Water was shown at the Bologna film festival. For 2024, to mark the 40th anniversary of Paris, Texas, we will also have a 4K restoration.

Do we know when a Wim Wenders film is shown on Argentinian or Filipino television?

C.B and H.W. : It's difficult to know exactly when a film is being broadcast, because the local distributors to whom we sell the rights don't always keep us informed. It's easy to find out what's happening in the traditional territories: part of Europe, the United States and Japan. We try to see how we can make Wim Wenders' films accessible in countries that don't have such strong industries.

What is your favourite work of his filmography?

H .W. : Alice in the Cities, with its little character and her journey with this adult. I even named my daughter Alice! I also have a very personal connection with Until the End of the World: I was eleven or twelve and my brother and I appear in it. It made such an impression on me that I wanted to become a filmmaker.

C. B. : Wings of Desire. Every time we work on a film again, we go through it frame by frame. In Wings of Desire, every shot by Henri Alekan is wonderfully composed and the black and white is stunning. I also love its vision of humanity: the compassionate eyes of the angels, which could represent a kind of ideal humanity, are very touching to me. This idea of looking at others with love is central to Wim Wenders' work and to his life ethic too.

 Interviewed by Aurélien Ferenczi