New Documentary Explores Leni Riefenstahl's Complex Legacy

Andres Veiel's film delves into the Nazi filmmaker's propaganda work, personal archives, and lifelong attempts to shape her public image.

The documentary, directed by German filmmaker Andres Veiel, examines the life and work of Leni Riefenstahl, a controversial figure in film history closely associated with Nazi propaganda.
Riefenstahl's most infamous works include 'Triumph of the Will' (1935), which glorified a Nazi Party congress, and 'Olympia' (1938), a stylized portrayal of the Berlin Olympics.
Veiel had access to 700 crates of Riefenstahl's personal archives, using them to challenge her claims of political naivety and apolitical motivations for collaborating with Adolf Hitler.
The film critiques Riefenstahl's manipulative efforts to craft a post-war narrative of herself as an artist blinded by ambition rather than a complicit propagandist.
The documentary also explores the enduring influence of her aesthetic choices, which continue to resonate in modern visual culture despite their origins in fascist ideology.