Riefenstahl

DOX invites you to a summer movie night under the stars. Viewers can be moved by Riefenstahl's documentary and biopic.

A fascinating insight into the personal legacy of Leni Riefenstahl, who rose to fame with the film Triumph of the Will, the pinnacle of Nazi film propaganda, while stubbornly denying any close ties to the regime.

Leni Riefenstahl is considered one of the most controversial figures of the twentieth century. Her films Triumph of the Will and Olympia perfectly embody the stylized worship of the cult of the body and the celebration of superiority and victory. At the same time, these images express contempt for the imperfect and weak. The aesthetic perception that Riefenstahl codified is more widespread today than ever – but does that also apply to the underlying message of her images? The film explores this question using documents from Riefenstahl's estate, including private films, photographs, letters and recordings. It reveals fragments of her life and places them in a wider historical context. How could Riefenstahl have worked her way up to the Reich's leading filmmaker while steadfastly denying any close ties to Hitler and Goebbels? In personal papers, he laments her "murdered ideals". The film reflects the mood of many post-war Germans who - based on letters and recorded phone calls from the director's estate - yearn for an authoritative figure to restore order in this "damned state". He believes this revival could also bring about a renaissance of Leni Riefenstahl's work—a conjecture that could become a reality within a generation or two. What if they are right?