Riefenstahl

It was Susan Sontag who coined the term “fascinating fascism,” writing about the German filmmaker and photographer Leni Riefenstahl in 1975. It appeared that Riefenstahl had rehabilitated her reputation, distancing the aesthetic qualities of her famous documentaries Triumph of the Will (1935) and Olympia (1938) from their politics. But both films were conceived and executed as propaganda for National Socialism, and Riefenstahl was close to Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels and Albert Speer. Can we really give the Nazis’ favourite filmmaker a free pass? And if we do, what does that say about us?

These questions remain relevant, and Andres Veiel digs deeper into them in this new documentary, taking advantage of unprecedented access to Riefenstahl’s personal archives, and drawing on the many interviews she recorded over the decades. It’s a complex, revealing and sad story. Veiel gives Leni her due, but never lets her off the hook.

Sombre, gripping, incrementally nauseating.

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

A riveting watch, a masterclass in how to animate such material through inventive treatment.

Dave Sexton, New Statesman

Eye-opening, chilling, fascinating and [frightening].

First Showing