Riefenstahl

A captivating insight into controversial filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, who rose to international fame as a chief Nazi propagandist but continued to deny ideological ties to the regime. 

Commissioned by Hitler, Riefenstahl’s notorious films Triumph of the Will (1935) and Olympia (1938) invited worship for the victorious and contempt for the weak. Her aesthetics have returned to prominence: is the same true for their (implied) message? Reviewing documents from Riefenstahl’s estate, Riefenstahl explores this question while trying to uncover the truth about her ties to Nazism and how much she knew of its murderous central project. 

The first film about Riefenstahl to gain full access to her estate, Andres Veiel’s extraordinary doc sheds light on a complex and compromised figure who mirrored Germany’s anguished post-war divisions. 

“A slice of dark history that speaks (eloquently, implicitly) to present-day tensions” ★★★★★ The Guardian