Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog is cult! He has been imitated on social media more than almost any other director. He guest-starred on ‘The Simpsons’ several times, and helped draw attention to the Star Wars series ‘The Mandalorian’ when he played its villain. ‘Time Magazine’ named Herzog one of 2009’s most influential people.

In around 70 feature films and documentaries to date, Herzog has created an extraordinary visual canon, far surpassing what audiences are accustomed to seeing at the cinema. His oeuvre spans feature films of New German Cinema and Hollywood productions with stars such as Nicole Kidman and Christian Bale, as well as willfully unorthodox documentaries. He has frequently worked as an actor; he has written books (most recently ‘The Twilight World’, 2022); and founded the Rogue Film School. Herzog is constantly searching for “ecstatic truth” – a truth not bound by facts – that delves deeper than reality.

A polarizing figure, Werner Herzog challenges his audiences. His work has consistently provoked controversial debates between widely diverging factions throughout his career. This exhibition aims to introduce his multilayered oeuvre to a broad public while critically reassessing it. It builds on the extensive Werner Herzog Archive housed at the Deutsche Kinemathek, opening up many new ways to approach Herzog’s work.