Wim Wenders in Frankfurt

It is precisely this central role of music in his cinematic work that will be the focus of a three-day festival organized by the Alte Oper Frankfurt in March 2026 to mark the award-winning director's 80th birthday. The program of film screenings, live music, and discussions was developed in collaboration with Wim Wenders and will also feature him speaking in person on all three evenings. 

Wim Wenders will talk about the influence of music on his cinematic work, but also about his personal passion for music, his love of vinyl, his own music collection, his many close friendships with musicians and the soundtrack of his life.

In 1895, just a few weeks before the Lumière brothers launched their cinematograph in France, the Skladanowsky brothers showed their first films on the Bioscop they had developed in Berlin. 100 years later, Wim Wenders and graduates of the University for Television and Film in Munich commemorated the birth of cinema with 'The Skladanowsky Brothers', a tribute to the two pioneers of film history. The film begins in 1895 and ends in the present day, 1996, with Max Skladanowsky's daughter Lucie, who still has fond memories of her father and the early days of cinema. Shot mainly on an old hand-cranked camera from the 1920s, it is a film in the best slapstick style.

Laurent Petitgand, who wrote the music for ten of Wenders' films, accompanies the 4K restored film live on electric piano, saxophone, harmonica and guitar.

Before,18:00 Großer Saal
A CONVERSATION WITH WIM WENDERS
Admission free, admission with ticket for the evening concert

19:00 Großer Saal
Film: BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB
(D/USA 1999, R.: Wim Wenders, 105 Min.)

21:00 Großer Saal
Concert: SARAHBANDA – „THE YOUNG BUENA VISTAS“

His most famous music film begins with the story of a close friendship: in 1998, Wim Wenders and a small film crew accompanied his long-time friend Ry Cooder, who had already composed the music for 'Paris, Texas' and 'At the End of Violence', to Havana. Cooder wanted to record music for a solo album by Ibrahim Ferrer in a studio there. Wenders immersed himself in the world of Cuban music. Over several months he observed and accompanied the musicians, first at home in Havana, then weeks later, in April 1998, in Amsterdam for the first public performance of this band, which had only ever played together in the studio. Performances all over the world followed, including a triumphant concert at New York's Carnegie Hall in July 1998, and the musicians also caused a sensation at the Alte Oper in May 2001.

Before, 18:00 Großer Saal
WIM WENDERS IN CONVERSATION WITH WOLFGANG NIEDECKEN
Free admission, access with ticket for the film screening

19:00 Großer Saal
Film: THE SOUL OF MAN
(D/USA 2003, R.: Wim Wenders, 103 Min.)

Afterwards, 21:00 Albert Mangelsdorff Foyer
Concert: CHILLOUT: LIVE-BLUES-SESSION
DANIEL STELTER TRIO

Talk, film, concert: ‘The Soul of a Man’ is the motto of a three-part evening about and featuring music. In 2002, Wim Wenders realised his homage to the blues under this title. The Alte Oper is showing this film, in which Wenders pays tribute to three blues heroes of the 1930s and has their songs reinterpreted by musicians of our time such as Lou Reed, Nick Cave and Cassandra Wilson, on the big screen.

The exhibition is dedicated to the life and work of Wim Wenders and features numerous exhibits such as scripts, photos, props and costumes. As highlights, Wenders narrates the audio guide and has designed an immersive installation that allows visitors to immerse themselves in his visual worlds.

Concert guests receive a €2 discount on admission to the exhibition at the DFF upon presentation of their festival tickets.