Wim Wenders made his directorial debut in the 1970 feature film ‘Summer in the City.’ Wenders was also the writer of the film. In 1972, he directed the German-language drama film ‘Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter.’ The film was based on Peter Handke’s 1970 novel of the same name. He next directed films like ‘The Scarlet Letter’ (1973), ‘Alice in the Cities’ (1974), ‘The Wrong Move’ (1975), ‘Kings of the Road’ (1976), ‘The American Friend’ (1977), ‘Lightning Over Water’ (1980), ‘Hammett’ (1982), ‘The State of Things’ (1982), ‘Paris, Texas’ (1984), and ‘Tokyo-Ga’ (1985). In 1987, he came to direct the romantic fantasy film, ‘Wings of Desire.’ The film received a positive response from critics and was a box office success. He continued to direct films like ‘Notebook on Cities and Clothes’ (1989), ‘Until the End of the World’ (1991), ‘Arisha, the Bear and the Stone Ring’ (1992), ‘Faraway, So Close!’ (1993), ‘Lisbon Story’ (1994), ‘A Trick of Light’ (1995), ‘Lumière et compagnie’ (1995), ‘The End of Violence’ (1997), and Willie Nelson at the Teatro’ (1998). The year 1999 saw the release of the documentary film ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ written and directed by Wenders. The film received widespread acclaim and was nominated for ‘Academy Award’ for ‘Best Documentary Feature.’ Buena Vista Social Club was also selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2020.
Wenders next directed films like ‘The Million Dollar Hotel’ (2000), ‘Ode to Cologne: A Rock 'N' Roll Film’ (2002), ‘Other Side of the Road’ (2003), ‘The Soul of a Man’ (2003), ‘Land of Plenty’ (2004), ‘Don't Come Knocking’ (2005), ‘Invisible Crimes’ (2007), ‘Palermo Shooting’ (2008), and ‘If Buildings Could Talk’ (2010). In 2011, he wrote and directed the German 3D documentary film, ‘Pina.’ The film was lauded by critics and received a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. He continued to direct films: ‘Ver ou Não Ver’ (2012), ‘The Berlin Philharmonic’ (2014), ‘The Salt of the Earth’ (2014), ‘Every Thing Will Be Fine’ (2015), ‘The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez’ (2016), and ‘Submergence’ (2017). He last directed the 2018 documentary film, ‘Pope Francis: A Man of His Word.’ The film was warmly received by critics and holds an 82% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
