Wim Wenders Opens 76th Berlinale as Jury President, Champions Cinema's Empathy and Truth

Wim Wenders, president of the jury, opened the 76th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) with a speech emphasizing cinema's capacity for compassion and empathy, contrasting it with news media and politics. He argued that film's ethical responsibility is to create spaces of understanding and shared humanity. Wenders insisted on the inseparable link between reality and imagination, stating that the greatest stories arise from reality while authentic reality is infused with myth. He described cinema as a transformative device that changes both the world and the filmmaker, offering new perspectives. The article also surveys Wenders's career, highlighting key works such as *Wings of Desire* (*Der Himmel über Berlin*), *Paris, Texas*, *Chambre 666*, *The Salt of the Earth*, *Anselm*, *Pina*, and *Perfect Days*, which exemplify his poetic minimalism, contemplative landscapes, and reflections on identity, time, and existence. The piece is written by Margherita Bordino for Artribune.