‘Understatement to say I am overwhelmed,’ says German filmmaker Wim Wenders on Kolkata visit

Award-winning German filmmaker Wim Wenders visits Kolkata, interacts with fans, screens restored films, and conducts masterclass.

Hundreds of film enthusiasts thronged to Kolkata’s esteemed film theatre Nandan on Sunday evening to catch a film screening and interact with award-winning German filmmaker Wim Wenders, who is currently visiting the city between February 16 and February 19 as part of his month-long India tour.

Wenders, a central figure of 1970s’ New German Cinema and director of award-winning films like Paris, Texas (1984) and Wings of Desire (1987), is currently on a month-long, multi-city tour of India. He landed in Kolkata on February 16, after attending houseful interactions and screenings of his films in Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. 

He arrived at Nandan on Sunday — his first stop in Kolkata — to a fanfare of dhak and the Chhau folk dance, eventually walking into the packed screening hall where fans greeted him with a standing ovation.

“It would be understating to say I am overwhelmed… I am full of curiosity about you because I am just learning to meet Indian audiences. I have met extremely educated audiences in both Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, you can still beat them,” Mr. Wenders said in jest while introducing his film Paris, Texas before its screening.

He added that the version being screened is a restored copy made from the original camera negative of the 1984 film, restored by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, founder-director of the Film Heritage Foundation. “You’ll see the most beautiful version of the film that has existed,” Mr. Wenders told the audience. 

He added that the film was in 1983, which marked his seventh year of living in the United States since he left Germany in 1977.

“It took me six years to make a film in the United States according to my own rules,” he said, referring to Paris, Texas. He emphasised the instrumental role of his collaborators in the film, especially cinematographer Robby Müller, writer Sam Shepard, and musician Ry Cooder, with whom he could not collaborate earlier because of ‘restrictions from Hollywood’s studios’.