Vatican presents German director with spiritual filmmaking award

Published: 2004-09-08

VENICE, Italy (CNS) -- A top Vatican official presented German director Wim Wenders with a spiritual filmmaking award during the annual Venice Film Festival. U.S. Archbishop John P. Foley, head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, praised "the director's courage in asking the essential questions about man's existence," as he presented Wenders with the annual Bresson Prize Sept. 8. Wenders' films "offer a starting point for constructive reflection" and "show that cinema is an appropriate instrument for spreading values and culture," the archbishop said in his speech. The 59-year-old cinematographer is best known for the films "Paris, Texas" in 1984, "Wings of Desire" in 1987, and the "Buena Vista Social Club" in 1998. Wenders was attending the northern Italian film festival to present his recent film, "Land of Plenty," which deals, Wenders said, with "poverty, paranoia and patriotism" in present-day America.

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