AFRICAN ENCOUNTERS SPECIAL: Wim Wenders meets King Ampaw
To mark the start of the 60th anniversary of the HFF Munich (est. 1966) the filmschool’s International Office invites audiences to a special encounter as part of the exchange programme African Dialogues: Wim Wenders and King Ampaw, two students from the first generation 1967, whose paths have unfolded between Munich and Ghana. In Wenders’ ALABAMA (1969), Ampaw appears in front of the camera - an early moment of a connection that continues to resonate today. Together with current students Kokutekeleza Musebeni (HFF München) and Joanna Adu-Amoani (UniMAC-IFT), they enter into an intergenerational dialogue on film and film education, past and present. It is an exchange about learning, memory, and the power of cinema to build bridges between Africa and Europe. Jacqueline Nsiah (Curator)
Wim Wenders and King Ampaw will each present one of their films and engage in a dialogue with one another as well as with students from the HFF Munich.
With the support of
BLACK IS BLACK
Deutschland 1968 – Director: King Ampaw – Original language: English – Subtitles: None – Length: 12 min.
Would you rent to a Black tenant? Through this simple yet revealing question, King Ampaw uncovers the realities of everyday racism in 1960s Germany. BLACK IS BLACK captures candid encounters with landlords, exposing prejudice, denial, and uneasy truths about belonging, visibility, and who is allowed to call a place home. J.N.
Biography
King Ampaw was born in Kukurantumi, Ghana. He is an actor and director and studied first in Potsdam, then at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, and at the HFF Munich, where he met Wim Wenders.
Filmography
NO TIME TO DIE, DE, GH, 2009, 95 min (Feature film)
NANA AKOTO, GH, 1985, 94 min (Feature film)
KUKURANTAMI, GH, DE, 1983, 83 min (Feature film)
The digitization of the film BLACK IS BLACK was carried out as part of the film series "Von hier - Filme als Archive der Migrationsgesellschaft", curated by Tobias Hering and Björn Schmitt for the cinema of DFF.
Production: XX. Producer: XX.
ALABAMA (2000 LIGHT YEARS)
Deutschland 1968 – Director: Wim Wenders – Original language: German – Subtitles: None – Length: 21 min.
A journey unfolds to the rhythm of a single song, shifting in tone and meaning as it reappears in different voices. Between movement and stillness, ALABAMA explores how music reshapes perception - where the same melody opens up entirely new worlds depending on how, and by whom, it is heard. J.N.
Biography
Born in Düsseldorf, director Wim Wenders gained international recognition as a key figure in the New German Cinema movement of the 1970s. Today, he is regarded as one of the most significant figures in contemporary world cinema. The body of work of screenwriter, director, producer, photographer, and author Wim Wenders includes multiple award-winning feature and documentary films, photo exhibitions presented worldwide, as well as numerous illustrated books, film books, and collections of writings. Together with his wife, Donata Wenders, he lives and works in Berlin.
Filmography
THE SOUL OF A MAN, DE, US, 2002, 103 min
BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB, DE, US, 1998/99, 105 min
DIE GEBRÜDER SKLADANOWSKY, DE, 1993-1996, 80 min
Camera: Robby Müller. Production: XXX. Producer: XXX.
