German director Wim Wenders is to receive the European Film Academy’s lifetime achievement award at this year’s European Film Awards.
A founding member and president of the European Film Academy from 1996 to 2020, Wender’s films have received multiple awards including a Palme d’Or and Bafta for 1984’s Paris, Texas and a Golden Lion for 1982’s The State of Things.
He has won a European Film Award three times for 1988’s Wings of Desire, 1999’s Buena Vista Social Club and 2011’s Pina. His 2000 film Million Dollar Hotel won a Berlinale Silver Bear.
Three of his documentaries - Buena Vista Social Club, Pina and 2015’s The Salt Of The Earth – were Oscar nominated.
In 2023, Wenders had two films at Cannes – the 3D documentary Anselm and the feature film Perfect Days with Kōji Yakusho as a Tokyo toilet cleaner, which won the Best Actor Award and was subsequently nominated for an Oscar.
Wenders attended the Academy of Film & Television in Munich, worked as a film critic for various German publications, and was a founding member of film distributor Filmverlag der Autoren. In 1975, he started his own production company in Berlin, Road Movies.
“With this award, we celebrate Wim Wenders’ outstanding body of work which keeps exploring and experimenting with a curious eye and an open mind,” said Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and director of the European Film Academy. “As one of the founding members of the European Film Academy, its Chairman from 1990 until 1995 and President until 2020, Wim Wenders has a strong connection to the European Film Academy and we’re additionally happy to also celebrate his outstanding commitment and say thank you.”
The 37th European Film Awards Ceremony take place on December 7 in Lucerne.
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