German director, author, and photographer Wim Wenders has been announced as the president of he International Jury of the 76th Berlinale.
“Wim Wenders is one of the most influential voices in international cinema. For six decades, he has made films that move and delight us with their humanity and sense of wonder,” said Berlinale Director Tricia Tuttle.
“His insatiable curiosity and deep mastery of film language are evident in every work, whether he is exploring the gifts of other artists or illuminating our own search for meaning and connection. To say we are proud of this homegrown polymath is an understatement, and we cannot wait to see where jury president Wim Wenders leads our jury in picking the Golden and Silver Bear winners of the 76th Berlinale.”
With a career spanning six decades, Wenders’ most recent credits include Perfect Days (2023) which earned an Oscar nomination, and the 3D documentary Anselm (2023) about artist Anselm Kiefer. He is regarded as one of the significant representatives of New German Cinema, with his work spanning and documentary.
“It never hit me to even remotely think about being jury president in my hometown until Tricia Tuttle asked me. And then I realised: Wow! That’ll be a whole new way to see films at the Berlinale, for once watch each and every one in the Competition and discuss them all in-depth with a group of intelligent and movie-loving people. How good can it get? I’m grateful to Tricia to invite me to this rare experience,” said Wenders.
Wenders’ films include The Goalkeeper’s Fear of the Penalty (1972), Alice in the Cities (1974), Kings of the Road (1976), and The American Friend (1977), through which he is credited with creating a new cinematic language and redefining the image of German film.
In 1971, he co-founded Filmverlag der Autoren, a key institution for New German Cinema, and in 2003 he was one of the founding members of the German Film Academy.
Wenders is also a co-founder of the European Film Academy and served as its president for more than two decades. With his foundation – the Wim Wenders Stiftung – he is committed to supporting film heritage, as well as the next generation of filmmakers and film education.
His best-known films include 1984 Cannes Palme d’Or winner Paris, Texas, the legendary Berlin film Wings of Desire (1987), the technically ambitious science-fiction epic Until the End of the World (1991), Faraway, So Close! (1993), and music documentary Buena Vista Social Club, which won a European Film Award for Best Documentary in 1999 and was Oscar-nominated in 2000.
Other milestones in his filmography include 3D dance film Pina, which premiered in the Berlinale Competition in 2011 and won Best Documentary at the German Film Awards.
Wenders has long been closely connected to the Berlinale: In addition to Pina, The Million Dollar Hotel (Opening Film 2000), and the 3D feature Everything Will Be Fine (2015), he has presented numerous works in the festival programme.
He was a strong supporter and contributor in the founding years of the Berlinale Talent Campus (now Berlinale Talents). In 2015, he was honoured with the Berlinale’s Honorary Golden Bear for his outstanding achievements in film and cinema, and seven of his films were screened in restored versions.
The 76th Berlinale will take place from February 12 to 22, 2026. The International Jury will decide on the Golden and Silver Bears in the Competition, with the award ceremony taking place on February 21, 2026.
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