Award-winning German director Wim Wenders said Wednesday he was withdrawing his 1975 film Wrong Move after a campaign by actress Nastassja Kinski against a scene in which she appeared topless when she was 13 years old.
In a statement on his foundation's website, Wenders apologised to Kinski and said that the non-profit Wim Wenders Foundation, which owns the film, is withdrawing it from all current channels of distribution.
"As the only person responsible at the time for 'Wrong Move' who is still here, I recognize that Nastassja Kinski should have been better protected back then", Wenders, 80, said in the statement.
"For that, I apologize to you, Nastassja, unreservedly, no ifs and buts", said Wenders, one of the most influential German directors of recent decades. His films have won a BAFTA award and a Palme d'Or at Cannes.
Last month Kinski, 65, gave an interview to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily in which she said she had for years been trying to get Wenders to change the film, without success.
"That was my first film, he was my first director and he didn't protect me", Kinski told the paper. His films have won a BAFTA award and a Palme d'Or at Cannes.
The Wim Wenders Foundation said it would seek a "broad dialogue" with German film institutions about what to do with the film in future.
"Only after that process has taken place – even if it takes considerable time – and once we have been able to present a mutually agreed solution, which will include Nastassja Kinski, will we make the film available again", it said.
A lawyer for actress Nastassja Kinski said the move was "long overdue". In a statement to AFP, lawyer Christian Schertz said that he "welcomed" the decision but added: "I also regret that it has only happened as result of public pressure."
