Wim Wenders
Being in the Now
We are living a social disease. Our lives are so fast paced and our desire to succeed is so persistent that we are in a constant state of wondering what's next rather than seeing what is. This is how filmmaker Wim Wenders sees it. Inspired or terrified by seeing himself and others in this circumstance, Wenders made a film about well, life, or death really, placing his protagonist in a position that hopefully shakes him into seeing what is valuable rather than what is socially seen as successful. Palermo Shooting is Wenders latest creation and premiered at Cannes earlier in 2008. Director of such films as Paris, Texas, and the Oscar-nominated documentary Buena Vista Social Club, Wenders was awarded a lifetime achievement award at the Berlin and Beyond Film Festival where Palermo Shooting had its US premiere. It tells the story of Finn, a successful but deeply dissatisfied professional photographer, who comes face to face with death (disguised as Dennis Hopper) only to discover the complicated beauty of life in the dramatic setting of Palermo, Italy.
