(Der Himmel über Berlin, Wim Wenders, West Germany/France 1987, 128 min., DCP, German with English subtitles)
Guardian angels left to watch over West Berlin after the Second World War listen to the thoughts and dreams of its citizens from the city’s rooftops. When Bruno Ganz’s angel Damiel falls in love with a beautiful trapeze artist, he relinquishes his immortality and falls to earth to be with her. Shot primarily in black and white just two years before the fall of the Berlin Wall, this film pays poetic tribute to a city divided. Wings of Desire, which earned Wim Wenders the award for Best Director at Cannes in 1987, explores the complex connection between looking, loving, and holding, and remains one of cinema’s most affecting city symphonies.
Upcoming Events in this Series
Film Screenings | The Dream & the Lie (DCP)
A Summer Trip through Europe(an Cinema) Designed as a three-channel installation, this cinematic version of Elena Dorfman’s debut film takes a deep dive into the hidden history of Albanian film. The Albanians established their Kinostudio with the help of the Russians, and went on to produce more than three hundred feature films and thousands of newsreels and documentaries — all of which were state sponsored and censored.
Film Screenings | L’Avventura (35mm)
A Summer Trip Through Europe(an Cinema) Largely considered Antonioni’s breakthrough masterpiece, L’Avventura marked the director’s transition into his trademark deliberate pacing and careful composition. Based on a story written by Antonioni, the film chronicles the search for a woman whose disappearance leads to an illicit romance between her lover and her best friend.
Film Screenings | Celine and Julie Go Boating (DCP)
A Summer Trip through Europe(an Cinema) “Usually, it began like this…” Jacques Rivette’s recursive, surreal, haunted house film plays with narrative in ways never before seen on-screen, and in the process influenced dozens of filmmakers, from David Lynch to Richard Linklater and Olivier Assayas.