In Remembrance: Solveig Donmartin

     Solveig Donmartin, who starred as the earthly object of desire of an angel in the 1987 Wim Wenders classic Wings Of Desirte, has passed away on January 11, 2007 in Paris, France. She was 45.

     Born on May 16, 1961 in Paris, Donmartin began her acting career on the stage. She found her entrance into film while working as an assistant for director Jacques Rozier.

     Donmartin first worked with Wenders as an editor on his 1985 documentary Tokyo-Ga. Wenders then cast her in her feature film debut in Wings Of Desire as Marion, the lovelorn trapeze artist who captures the heart of an angel wandering the streets of Berlin played by Berlin Ganz. For her role, Donmartin trained with a trapeze coach for eight weeks, reaching the point where no stunt doubles were needed for any of her scenes. She would work again with director Wenders on the 1991 Until The End Of The World, for which she also shared a “Story By” credit with Wenders and the 1993 Wings Of Desire sequel Faraway, So Close!.

     Donmartin also starred in a small number of other films including The Prisoner Of St. Petersburg (1989), No Fear, No Die (1990) and I Can’t Sleep (1994). Her final film appearance was in the 1997 short Eiffel Tower Trilogy: Height, Weight & Gravity. Donmartin tried her hand at directing with the 1998 short If Only There Were A Bridge.