In his exhilarating new film, Pina, German master Wim Wenders captures the brilliantly inventive dance world of late avant-garde choreographer Pina Bausch who led the Tanztheater Wuppertal ensemble. Wenders had conceived with Bausch a dance film like none seen before, one which would take the fullest advantage yet of new 3D technology to put the viewer deep inside Bausch’s playful, thrillingly unpredictable pieces. After her untimely death in 2009, Wenders continued with the project, turning it into the most exciting tribute he could imagine to the legendary artist. The end result is a sensual and visually stunning film.

Wenders talked to us at a roundtable interview about his collaboration with Bausch and her dancers, the technical challenges of the project, and its surprising emotional resonance. He told us what inspired him to make Pina, how 3D allowed him to take audiences into Bausch’s work and her imaginative sets and render the beauty and sheer physicality of the dances and dancers, and what he took away from the experience as a fellow artist and filmmaker. He also discussed the dance company’s plans to honor Bausch’s legacy through their performance at the London 2012 Olympics and why he thinks there’s nothing more exciting than to explore the human imagination and learn about another person’s creativity and craft.

I admire the hell out of dancers.  They’re athletes and artists.  They must train their bodies to the nth degree and remember complex choreography while still delivering the emotion of a performance, usually without the benefit of words.  In his 3D documentary Pina, Wim Wenders attempts to take us deep into the artistry of modern dance and a company’s deep love for their fallen leader Pina Bausch.  There’s just one problem: I don’t speak modern dance.

Yesterday, we reported on the strong documentary line-up for the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.  Today, we have the first images from four of the documentaries: Wim Wenders’ first 3D film Pina, Nick Broomfield’s Sarah Palin – You Betcha!, Jonathan Demme’s I’m Carolyn Parker: The Good, the Mad, and the Beautiful, and Werner Herzog’s Into the Abyss.

Hit the jump to check out the images along with a synopsis for each film.  The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8 – 18th.

We’ve already seen the heavy-hitters of non-documentary films showing at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.  Today, TIFF has announced its impressive documentary line-up along with line-ups for the interesting smaller films that are worth your attention at the fest.  The documentaries include Morgan Spurlock’s Comic-Con: Episode IV – A Fan’s Hope, Werner Herzog’s Into the Abyss, Jonathan Demme’s I’m Carolyn Parker: The Good, the Mad, and the Beautiful, and Wim Wenders’ 3D film Pina. The Midnight Madness line-up includes Bobcat Goldthwait’s latest, God Bless America and Douglas Aarniokoski’s The Day starring Ashley Bell and Dominic Monaghan.

Hit the jump for the documentary line-ups (“Real to Reel”), “Midnight Madness”, “Vanguard” (international genre flicks), “TIFF Kids”, and “City to City” (an annual programme that focuses on films from one city; this year is Buenos Aires).  The 2011 Toronto Film Festival runs from September 8th to 18th.

Christopher Walken, Ashley Greene, Shirley MacLaine, and Adam Beach will star in the mystical drama The Boom Boom Room.  In a slightly bizarre pairing, Bono will be executive producing the film alongside acclaimed art house director Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire).  There are no details on the plot other than it’s “a magical tale set in a desert milieu.”  Writer/director Lian Lunson tells Screen Daily “This has been a vision of mine for a very long time. The story captures the essences of everyday life but in a fairy tale landscape.  It is a dream to be working with Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Walken, both of whom are playing roles unlike anything they’ve done before.”  I’ll pay $10 just to hear Christopher Walken say “Boom Boom Room”, but only on the condition that I also get it as a ringtone.

Wings of Desire is one of those films that I’ve always wanted to see, but been weary of getting around to watching. Sure, it’s a well-respected classic of its time, often cited as one of the great films of the  1980′s, and held the cache of “the foreign film people who don’t watch foreign films love” much like films like Amelie or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. But when the film came out Pauline Kael decimated it in her review. And I hate being the movie guy who doesn’t like films that everyone else likes, which is often the case. My review after the jump.