Riefenstahl

DOX presents a summer film evening under the stars - a documentary biographical film about Riefenstahl.

The film offers insight into the personal legacy of Leni Riefenstahl, who became famous for Triumph of the Will - the pinnacle of Nazi film propaganda - yet stubbornly denied any close ties to the regime. Riefenstahl is considered one of the most controversial figures of the twentieth century. Her films Triumph of the Will and Olympia embody a stylized worship of the cult of the body and celebration of superiority, while expressing contempt for the weak and imperfect. The aesthetic vision that Riefenstahl codified is more widespread today than ever - but does the same apply to the fundamental message of her films?

The film examines this question through documents from the director's estate: private films, photographs, letters, and recordings. It reveals fragments of her life and places them in a broader historical context. How could Riefenstahl rise to the position of the Reich's leading filmmaker while persistently denying closeness to Hitler and Goebbels? In personal documents she laments her "murdered ideals". The film also captures the mood of many post-war Germans who - based on letters and recorded telephone conversations from the estate - long for an authoritative figure to restore order. They believe such a renewal could bring a renaissance of Leni Riefenstahl's work - a notion that could become reality within one or two generations. What if they are right?