Hundreds of movie fanatics thronged to Kolkata’s esteemed movie theatre Nandan on Sunday night to catch a movie screening and work together with award-winning German filmmaker Wim Wenders, who’s at present visiting the town between February 16 and February 19 as a part of his month-long India tour.
Wenders, a central determine of Seventies’ New German Cinema and director of award-winning movies like Paris, Texas (1984) and Wings of Desire (1987), is at present on a month-long, multi-city tour of India. He landed in Kolkata on February 16, after attending houseful interactions and screenings of his movies in Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram.
He arrived at Nandan on Sunday — his first cease in Kolkata — to a fanfare of dhak and the Chhau people dance, ultimately strolling into the packed screening corridor the place followers 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 stated in jest whereas introducing his movie Paris, Texas earlier than its screening.
He added that the model being screened is a restored copy created from the unique digital camera detrimental of the 1984 movie, 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 informed the viewers.
He added that the movie was in 1983, which marked his seventh 12 months of dwelling within 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 stated, referring to Paris, Texas. He emphasised the instrumental position of his collaborators within the movie, particularly cinematographer Robby Müller, author Sam Shepard, and musician Ry Cooder, with whom he couldn’t collaborate earlier due to ‘restrictions from Hollywood’s studios’.
Mr. Wenders and Mr. Dungarpur additionally interacted with the viewers on the theatre after the screening of Paris, Texas the place many followers had their questions answered by the director himself.
“Meeting a filmmaker like Wim Wenders, who I have looked up to for so many years, was a very special experience. I reached Nandan many hours before because Kolkata has a large film-loving audience and I anticipated a massive crowd today,” stated 30-year-old media skilled Souradeep Chakraborty.
Similarly, Uttarayan Chakrabarti, a 27-year-old video editor, reached the venue 4 hours prematurely to guarantee he had a seat for the session. “I have watched his films since I was a young adult but as I grew older, his films started hitting me differently. He strays from the conventional filmmaking style of Hollywood, and tells his stories very honestly,” he stated.
For 26-year-old promoting skilled Antak Biswas, Sunday was his first time watching Paris, Texas. “I deliberately avoided the version available on digital platforms. Loneliness has been a recurring theme in the movies of Wenders. This movie wasn’t an exception. Also, I loved what Wenders said after the film, that a good movie should have its flaws,” he stated.
Mr. Wenders additionally performed a two-hour-long masterclass on Monday at Kolkata’s G.D. Birla Sabhaghar the place a hundred-plus viewers requested him questions on his movies, his expertise making them, and his ideas on cinema.
At the masterclass, he spoke about modern-day loneliness, the significance of watching movies on the large display, and his experiments with new filmmaking applied sciences. Wenders additionally fondly recalled assembly veteran filmmaker Satyajit Ray in 1973 on the Berlin Film Festival, when Ray received the distinguished Golden Lion award for his movie Ashani Sanket.
The screening schedule for the Kolkata leg of Wenders’ tour contains sixteen movies together with Paris, Texas, Kings of the Road, Alice within the Cities, Buena Vista Social Club, The State of Things, Wings of Desire, Until the End of the World, and others. They are being screened at Nandan and Basusree Cinema in Kolkata, between February 16 and February 19.
Published – February 18, 2025 10:21 pm IST
