SILVER

With a small film crew, Wim Wenders accompanied his old friend Ry Cooder — composer for Wenders' PARIS, TEXAS and THE END OF VIOLENCE — on a trip to Havana in 1998. Cooder wanted to record his material for singer Ibrahim Ferrer's solo album at a studio there, following the recording of the first album by the band Buena Vista Social Club (which had not yet been released). Over the course of several months, Wenders immersed himself in the world of Cuban music. He observed and accompanied the musicians — first in Havana; then, weeks later, in April 1998, on their trip to Amsterdam for the first public performance of the band (who had never played together outside a studio); then, in July 1998, to their triumphal concert at New York's Carnegie Hall. Wenders thus followed these old heroes of the traditional Cuban Son music on their path from being completely forgotten to becoming world famous — within the period of just a few months. "I thought, I'll shoot a documentary," Wenders said, "and here we were, about to witness a fairy tale that no one could have imagined in this form." The documentary became a cinematic sensation and an international success. Along with an Academy Award® nomination for Best Documentary, BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB won the same category at the European Film Awards, the German Film Award in Gold, Germany's Golden Camera and the Cinema Brazil Grand Prize, among many others. (Note courtesy of Janus Films.) DIR/SCR Wim Wenders; PROD Ulrich Felsberg, Deepak Nayar. Germany/U.S./UK/France/Cuba, 1999, b&w/color, 105 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles. RATED G