Diving into other Worlds
The Wim Wenders Foundation is committed in many ways to the future of film and the promotion of young filmmakers. VIVID interviewed Managing Director Hella Wenders and Marion Döring from the Foundation's Board of Directors.
Jeremy Davies in The Million Dollar Hotel by Wim Wenders © 1999 Road Movies Filmproduktion - Courtesy of Wim Wenders Stiftung
We live in a time in which the popularity of short narrative forms seems to be increasing. How important is the classic feature film or documentary as a medium? And what should it be in your opinion?
Jeremy Davies & Wim Wenders during the shooting of The Million Dollar Hotel by Wim Wenders © 1999 Road Movies Filmproduktion - Courtesy of Wim Wenders Stiftung
Marion Döring: With the advent of digital media and the constant availability of moving image formats, people's viewing habits have changed. This also includes the content: there are certainly wonderful, creative and intelligent short formats and series. But it's also obvious that attention spans are significantly reduced if you don't - as in the cinema – shut out the world and devote yourself entirely to what's happening on the screen. Cinema attendance has declined significantly in recent years, accelerated by the effects of the pandemic. But if cinemas are dying, the classic feature film or documentary are also in danger. They are a valuable part of our artistic and cultural history. Cinema can not only provide entertaining hours - it is also the ideal place to immerse oneself in other societies and learn something about them. And the knowledge we acquire in the cinema in a playful way helps us to better understand other lifeworlds. That is why every effort must be made to bring people back to the cinemas, especially the younger generations.
Among other things, the Wim Wenders Foundation is committed to conveying film knowledge to young audiences. How does it do this?
Joint commitment to the future of film: Hella Wenders (l.), Wim Wenders and Marion Döring
Hella Wenders: In the academic year 2022/23, with the support of the Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, the Federal Agency for Civic Education and the Paul and Mia Herzog Foundation Düsseldorf, we launched our first own major film education project: "A European School of Seeing". The aim is for young people to sharpen their gaze and develop their own sensibility of how they personally look at things. We invited pupils from five Berlin schools and the Wim Wenders High School in Düsseldorf to join us on a cinematic journey and approach the medium of film through the eyes of a filmmaker. For this purpose, the participants watched six films in the cinema - older and newer European films selected by Wim Wenders, presented and discussed in depth with film educators in workshops. The students were also asked to try out their personal way of looking and seeing in their own cinematic works.
“How can we support those
young filmmakers who want
to devote themselves less to
the mainstream and more
to the art of film?”
Sam Shepard in Don't come Knocking by Wim Wenders © 2005 Reverse Angle Production, Reverse Angle International - Courtesy of Wim Wenders Stiftung
To what extent is the cinematic work of Wim Wenders of particular importance for imparting this knowledge?
Marion Döring: Wim Wenders is a traveller and a seeker. In his films we can discover places, people and their stories and let them become part of our own reality. But this is only possible if his films continue to find their way to the audience. Making the cultural film heritage, which now includes a large part of Wim Wenders' work, fit for the future is an important social task. That is why ten years ago Wim Wenders and his wife Donata Wenders established the Wim Wenders Foundation with the support of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the City of Düsseldorf. The foundation's assets include over 50 films by Wim Wenders, which have been made unavailable to private interests. With this type of foundation we are quite unique in Germany.
Promoting young talent is also close to your heart. With the Wim Wenders Grant of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, you support young filmmakers. How do you specifically support them in their creative work?
Hella Wenders: The grant gives young filmmakers - who want to tell stories using new means - the opportunity to develop their cinematic ideas independently. A jury consisting of Chairman Wim Wenders, Filmstiftung CEO Petra Müller and Mirko Derpmann from the advertising agency Scholz & Friends decides on the awarding of the grant. After a preliminary selection, the candidates are invited to present their projects to the jury. In addition to content-related criteria, the main focus is on the use of formal and visual design.
The grant class of 2022 (from left): Cem Kaya (“Heute ist Mutter gestorben”/"Today Mother Died"), Martin Prinoth ("Below Deck"), Tatjana Kononenko (“Geschichten in der Dunkelheit”/"Stories in the Dark"), TÒ SU alias Martina Mahlknecht ("Below Deck"), Mirko Derpmann (Creative Director Scholz & Friends Agenda), Wim Wenders (Jury Chairman), Petra Müller (Managing Director Film- und Medienstiftung NRW), Su-Jin Song ("Sol") and Olivia Schrøder von Lüttichau, Simon Steinhorst, Hannah Stragholz ("Zum Knochen”/”To the Bone")
What do the funding opportunities for young filmmakers look like in general?
Sarah Polley in Don't come Knocking by Wim Wenders © 2005 Reverse Angle Production, Reverse Angle International - Courtesy of Wim Wenders Stiftung
Marion Döring: In Germany we are actually doing quite well with regards to the promotion of young filmmakers. There are many funding possibilities at state level, at federal level and also in Europe. However, over the years the commercial element has been playing an increasingly important role in the selection criteria. So, the question should rather be: how can we support those young filmmakers who want to devote themselves less to the mainstream and more to the art of film? The Wim Wenders Grant certainly makes a valuable contribution to this, but if we really want to un-derstand film as an art form, there must be more opportunities for support. What role does Düsseldorf - the birthplace of Wim Wenders - play in the film landscape of NRW and beyond? Hella Wenders: With the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Düssel-dorf is home to one of the largest and most renowned film funding institutions in Europe. For the Wim Wenders Foundation, Düs-seldorf offers many networking opportunities, not only with the Filmmuseum Düsseldorf, the Museum Stiftung Kunstpalast and the Wim Wenders High School, but also with other artistic do-mains. Not to mention the fact that the foundation is based in the place where Wim Wenders was born and to which he continues to feel closely connected. •
Words: Elena Winter
Pictures: PR, Daniela Müller-Brunke, Claire Brunel