'Perfect Days' for TVM; Wim Wenders makes his first visit to capital with his films

Film Heritage Foundation, in association with the Wim Wenders Stiftung (Wim Wenders Foundation), Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram, and KSFDC, will organise a retrospective of German New Wave luminary, Palme d'Or winner and multiple Oscar nominee Wim Wenders in India from February 5 to 22.

The retrospective, titled 'Wim Wenders – King of the Road – The India Tour', will tour five cities in India, including Thiruvananthapuram, and will showcase 18 films. Wenders is famous for his road movies.

The Thiruvananthapuram leg of the tour will be held from February 9 to 12. The films will be screened on February 10 and 11, at the Kairali-Sree-Nila complex run by Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC). Wenders, however, will be in the capital city from February 9 to 12. He will also conduct a 'masterclass' as part of the retrospective. The filmmaker is visiting India for the first time.

The extensive India retrospective will showcase the auteur’s astonishing range of films spanning a career of more than half a century. On show will be 18 of his films – features, short films and documentaries - from his earliest feature film, 'The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick' (1971), to his latest documentary 'Anslem' in 3D. The retrospective will tour five Indian cities: Mumbai, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkata and Delhi. The screenings are open to the general public on a 'first come, first served' basis.

His films Paris, Texas (Palme d'Or winner in 1984) and Wings of Desire (1987) are today part of the international canon of film heritage, as are his innovative documentaries 'Pina, Buena Vista Social Club' and 'the Salt of the Earth'.

His two most recent films had their world premiere at the Festival de Cannes in 2023: Anslem, his 3D documentary about the artist Anselm Kiefer, and his Japanese feature film Perfect Days, for which lead actor Kōji Yakusho received the award for Best Actor in Cannes in 2023.

'Perfect Days' turned out to be the Wenders' most successful film at the global level. It was also nominated for an Oscar in the 'International Feature Film' category in 2024.

Filmmaker and the director of Film Heritage Foundation (FHF), Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, termed the retrospective as a "dream come true". "Wim Wenders is not just a filmmaker, but a poet and a thinker of cinema who has influenced generations of filmmakers, including myself.

"This retrospective allows us to celebrate his profound contributions to cinema and share his vision with a new generation of cinephiles. His commitment to film preservation, as evidenced by his own meticulous archiving and restoration efforts, perfectly aligns with FHF's mission," Dungarpur said.

Wenders, too, is excited about his first trip to India. "In all my travels around the world over the years, it seems astonishing that somehow, India fell off the map, not just because it is a country with an abundance of landscapes and images to explore, but also because it is a country where cinema is like a religion.

"I have known of Film Heritage Foundation’s dedication to preserving, restoring and bringing India’s precious film heritage back to contemporary audiences, so I was very happy when Shivendra invited me to come to India for a retrospective of my films," the filmmaker said.