Buena Vista Social Club

With a small film crew, Wim Wenders accompanied his old friend Ry Cooder, who had written the music for Paris, Texas and The End of Violence, on a trip to Havana, and immersed himself in the world of Cuban music. Over the course of several months, he observed and accompanied the musicians—first at home 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, still later, in July 1998, to their triumphal concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

The result is Buena Vista Social Club, a seductive documentary that follows the 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. The music documentary became a cinematic sensation and an international success, earning an Academy Award nomination for best documentary film, the German Film Prize in Gold, Germany’s Golden Camera, and the Grand Prize for Film in Brazil, as well as garnering numerous other awards.

Buena Vista Social Club screens as part of our "Party Like It's 1999" series. Courtesy of Janus Films.