A captivating insight into the private estate of Leni Riefenstahl, who became world-famous with her Nazi propaganda film Triumph des Willens but kept denying any closer ties to the regime.
Genre: history documentary, biography
Language: German, English, French, subtitles: English
Length: 1h 55m
In 1935, commissioned by Nazi propaganda minister Goebbels, Leni Riefenstahl made Triumph des Willens. It was a propaganda film in its purest form: a glorification of Hitler and his Nazi ideology, captured during the NSDAP party day in Nuremberg. After the war, Riefenstahl denied her close ties to the Nazi regime. She claimed she had simply seized the opportunity to launch her career and realize her cinematic vision. But then how does she explain her prominent position within the Third Reich?
In Riefenstahl, director Andres Veiel searches for answers using Leni Riefenstahl’s personal archives: more than 700 boxes full of letters, photographs, films and other documents. At the same time, he raises questions about the role of art in politics: what are the ethical limits of cinema?
A pressing film for today’s world, where propaganda, media manipulation and political spectacle are once again dangerously on the rise.
Awards
The film won the Cinema & Arts Award at the Venice Film festival.
Reviews
“It’s not often that films get better on a second viewing, but this dense, challenging and intellectually rigorous documentary about “Hitler’s favourite film-maker” Leni Riefenstahl is one of those exceptions.” The Times
"Riefenstahl is a crushing exposé, and its most impressive trick is peeling back the layers of a very private woman to show a petulant child who can’t believe people haven’t gotten over the atrocities she willingly helped create.” The Daily Beast
“With fresh access to her personal, self-serving and -aggrandising archives, Veiel lets Riefenstahl speak unedited: she puts a lot of issues to rest through her own lies, evasions and unrelentingly difficult personality.” Screen Daily
SG & USE/ITEC registration
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Ticket information
This film will be shown at Filmhuis De Zwarte Doos.
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Please be on time
The screening of the film begins promptly at 19:30 (with no pre-film advertisements), and the cinema hall will open at 19:10. We kindly request that you arrive at the ticket counter at least 10 minutes before the start of the film to ensure a smooth and timely experience for all.
The Studium Generale film program is created in collaboration with the Student Film Committee and Natlab.