cinema
Photography and film are two different things, although they arise from the same need. The desire to tell stories. Both come from the heart. I can't take pictures and film at the same time. That's why my books about the same subject came after filming. For the documentary VOODOO-Mounted by the Gods, it took me 12 years to make the film. Subsequently, I travelled back to West Africa again to shoot a book. The advantage was, I knew all the protagonists and I knew about them. In Japan, I was often frustrated photographing because I wanted to show how the Yakuza members talk. I wasn’t interested in what they say, but how they say it. How they walk. This is where photography reaches its limits. And then, of course, there's the music. It's at least as important as the image. That's why I love filming.
„If you have nothing to say,
you don't have to make movies.“
Alberto Venzago
Mein Bruder der Dirigent
I am very lucky to have a brother who is a gifted musician. He was a principal conductor in Indianapolis, Gothenburg, Bern and conducts the big orchestras all over the world. Since we are both on the road most of the time, our relationship is reduced to thousands of phone calls. To be physically close to him again, I decided to make a film about him. A magic was born. And a wonderful, tender film about someone who goes beyond his limits.
voodoo
In 1988, my Vespa broke down during a trip through Benin. As luck would have it, it breaks down next to the monastery of Mahounon, a voodoo priest who is highly respected in Central Africa. We become friends and, over the next ten years, I am given the opportunity to capture secret rites, ceremonies and dances on camera for the first time. The culmination of events is the search for a successor to the high priest.
Gergiev: A Certain Madness
Documentary portraying the famous Russian conductor Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra on tour in Russia entitled “Moscow Easter Festival” in 2010 and 2011. It's not just a film about a 30,000 km journey by rail. It is a film about the willingness to sacrifice everything for art. To the point of total exhaustion. And it is a film about music that could not be more grandiose.
Jagdzeit
Aboard the Greenpeace ship Esperanza, 37 idealists embark on a long and dangerous journey to the southern end of the world. They want to track down the Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctica. Japan plans to kill over 1000 of the peaceful marine mammals in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary-under the guise of science. However, the whales that are killed end up in Japanese restaurants. The crew of the Esperanza wants to prevent this. The question arises: Is it worth fighting for one's ideals? A great adventure in a hostile environment.
Invisibles
An episode of the collective film to promote the humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières. Wenders became involved in the project through Javier Bardem, a supporter of MSF and the producer of the film. He illustrates the dramatic situation of the thousands of women who are the victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been involved for years in a long civil war. Camera: Wim Wenders, Alberto Venzago.
der letzte
streckenwärter
"Der letzte Streckenwärter" Mythos Gotthard: Alberto Venzago tells in black-and-white pictures about the last track guard and walks with him through the tunnel. Step by step. 3,000 meters underground. Thanks to the unique camera work, the impressive images, the sophisticated editing and the skilfully used music, you feel yourself in the middle of the action. The soul of Switzerland is shown in this film in such an emotional way that it is unparalleled.
Concept, Script, Direction: Alberto Venzago; Camera: Alberto Venzago; Klaus Michael Vetter; Editing: Anouchka Tatjana Malnovic; Music & Sound Design: Jochen Schmidt-Hambrock. Magnetix Tonstudio AG, Florian Eidenbenz.
TRIP to Asia
Together with Oscar winner Anthony Dod Mantel, we did the camera work for this documentary directed by Thomas Grube. We show the Berlin Philharmonic with Sir Simon Rattle on tour in Asia in 2008. The film is about the harmony that is to remain. Harmony arises from diversity, from many voices that find themselves in a common vibration. It can be triumphantly loud or silence itself. Some seek it for a lifetime. Harmony is the overcoming of its own contradiction, a unique experience when it arises and communicates.
