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Wim Wenders to receive Zurich Film Festival tribute

Wim Wenders
Wenders at his exhibition 'Sofort Bilder (Instant Stories)' in Berlin on July 6 Keystone

German film director Wim Wenders will be given the “A Tribute to... Award” at the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) on October 6. The award will include a retrospective of 12 of his most important works. 

Wenders, 72, who is also an author, producer and photographer, looks back on five decades of filmmaking – “a period that has witnessed the creation of numerous award-winning feature and documentary films, many of which highlight questions of identity or tackle socially relevant issues”, the ZFF said on Thursday. 

Wenders studied medicine and philosophy before turning to painting and, in 1967, filmmaking, which he saw as “the continuation of painting in another medium”. He first drew worldwide acclaim in 1977 with his feature film “The American Friend”, in which Swiss actor Bruno Ganz had a starring role. 

He has since worked in Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia and his films have picked up countless international awards, including a Golden Palm and BAFTA for “Paris, Texas” (1984), the Best Director Award in Cannes for “Wings of Desire” (1987, also starring Ganz) and Oscar nominations for his documentaries “Buena Vista Social Club” (1999), “Pina” (2011) and “The Salt of the Earth” (2014).

The Zurich Film FestivalExternal link runs from September 27-October 7.

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