Piracy the most successful form of distribution: German dir Werner Herzog

Critically-acclaimed German filmmaker Werner Herzog believes "piracy" is the most "successful" forms of film distribution and he has given his "blessing" to those who watch his movies via torrents.

According to Screen Daily, the 76-year-old filmmaker, known for classics such as "Heart of Glass", "Even Dwarfs Started Small", "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" and "Rescue Dawn", was speaking at the Switzerland's film festival Visions in Nyon.

During a discussion, the moderator, Ukranian producer Illia Gladshtein, told Herzog that he was only able to watch his films by downloading torrents.

"Piracy has been the most successful form of distribution worldwide... If you don't get (films) through Netflix or state-sponsored television in your country, then you go and access it as a pirate," Herzog said in his response.

"I don't like it because I would like to earn some money with my films. But if someone like you steals my films through the internet or whatever, fine, you have my blessing," he added.

The filmmaker, who has over 60 films to his credit, said access to older content has become easy in the age of streaming services.

"Now you can find them on the internet, on Amazon, as Blu-Rays or DVDs, or you can stream them. I am very happy about this because all of a sudden most of the requests and observations I receive now come from 15 year olds who bombard me (with) questions of 'why can't we see this or that film?'" he added.

At the Visions in Nyon, Herzog was conferred with the Maitre du Reel lifetime achievement award as part of the festival's 50th anniversary celebrations.