With a small film crew, Wim Wenders accompanied his old friend Ry Cooder on a trip to Havana. Cooder wanted to record his material for Ibrahim Ferrer’s solo album at a studio following the first Buena Vista Social Club album - which had not yet been released at that time.

Wenders 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 and 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) and then, still later, in July 1998, to their triumphal concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Along with an Academy Award nomination for the best documentary film, Wenders's music documentary became a cinematic sensation and an international success winning awards including the European Film Awards and German Film Prize.

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