North American Premiere
In this stunning documentary, acclaimed director Wim Wenders presents the work of contemporary German artist Anselm Kiefer, who for decades has rattled European history and shown a mirror to post Second World War complacency and forgetfulness. Anselm navigates complexities of the artist’s long career, and features works including photographs, monumental installations, large-scale paintings, and ragged, blackened oversized books. The camera follows Kiefer as he bikes through his hangar of an art studio, sets huge canvases on fire, and sits amongst headless mannequins dressed in white Victorian gowns. As an artist, Kiefer interrogates narratives and addresses his country’s Nazi past and fascism’s philosophical underpinnings, and confronts the aftermath of war on the landscape. Gorgeous cinematography captures the inner and outer landscape of the artist, while past and present narratives blur the boundaries between cinema and visual art. An absorbing, tremendously cinematic experience.
Presented in 3D
Presented by
Series Media Partner
Anselm Kiefer, Daniel Kiefer, Anton Wenders
Germany
2023
Portraits
In German and English with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Wim Wenders
Producer
Karsten Brünig
Cinematography
Franz Lustig
Editor
Maxine Goedicke
Production Design
Sebastian Soukup, Karin Betzler
Director
Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders (born 1945) came to international prominence as one of the pioneers of German Cinema during the 1970s and is now considered one of the most important figures in contemporary film. In addition to his many prize-winning feature films, his work as a scriptwriter, director, producer, photographer and author also encompasses an abundance of innovative documentary films. His career as a filmmaker began in 1967. His international breakthrough came with The American Friend (1977), an adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel. Since then, Wenders has continued to work both in Europe and the USA as well as in Latin America and Asia and has been honored with countless awards at festivals
around the world.
Filmography: Alice in the Cities (1973); Paris, Texas (1984); Wings of Desire (1987); Pina (2011); Perfect Days (2023)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
Memory of Princess Mumbi
In 2093, a filmmaker arrives in the African village of Umata, where he meets Princess Mumbi, a woman torn between love, legacy, and the future of storytelling. It's a fabulous genre-blending fable about memory, invention and cinematic resistance.
Lessons of Darkness
Werner Herzog's unforgettable documentary reveals the unfolding disaster of the Kuwaitian oil fields in flames in 1991 as a sweeping inferno of mesmerizing power.
Beau Travail
Inspired by Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Claire Denis' transfixing Beau Travail is set in East Africa. Sgt Galoup (Denis Lavant) reflects on his time in the French Foreign Legion, and the impact of the handsome Sentain (Gregoire Colin).
But I'm a Cheerleader
Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is the perfect All-American Girl, or so she thinks. That is until she’s shipped off to conversion therapy. This pitch black comedy is wrapped in a saccharine bow, featuring the icon herself, RuPaul, as a conversion counsellor.