Leni Riefenstahl
Born
22 August 1902 (123)
Place of Birth
Berlin, Germany
Also known as
Helene Bertha Amalia Riefenstahl, Helene Bertha Amalie Riefenstahl
Biography
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will), made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party. Riefenstahl's prominence in the Third Reich along with her personal friendship with Adolf Hitler thwarted her film career following Germany's defeat in World War II, after which she was arre...
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will), made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party. Riefenstahl's prominence in the Third Reich along with her personal friendship with Adolf Hitler thwarted her film career following Germany's defeat in World War II, after which she was arrested but released without any charges. Triumph of the Will gave Riefenstahl instant and lasting international fame, as well as infamy. Although she directed only eight films, just two of which received significant coverage outside of Germany, Riefenstahl was widely known all her life. The propaganda value of her films made during the 1930s repels most modern commentators but many film histories cite the aesthetics as outstanding. The Economist wrote that Triumph of the Will "sealed her reputation as the greatest female filmmaker of the 20th century". In the 1970s Riefenstahl published her still photography of the Nuba tribes in Sudan in several books such as The Last of the Nuba. She was active up until her death and also published marine life stills and released the marine-based film Impressionen unter Wasser in 2002. After her death, the Associated Press described Riefenstahl as an "acclaimed pioneer of film and photographic techniques". Der Tagesspiegel newspaper in Berlin noted, "Leni Riefenstahl conquered new ground in the cinema". The BBC said her documentaries "were hailed as groundbreaking film-making, pioneering techniques involving cranes, tracking rails, and many cameras working at the same time". Description above from the Wikipedia article Leni Riefenstahl, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography (40)
FASCISM(s): A Film in Six Parts
2025
Riefenstahl
2024
City of Toys
2024
Longing For Innocence
2023
Leni Riefenstahl - The End of a Myth
2020
Eiskalte Leidenschaft - Leni Riefenstahl und Arnold Fanck zwischen Hitler und Hollywood
2018
Hitler's Hollywood
2017
Les Champions d'Hitler
2016
LENI
2015
In the Service of the Regime. Leni Riefenstahl
2009
Faszination Bergfilm - Himmelhoch und Abgrundtief
2008
Speer und er: Nachspiel - Die Täuschung
2005
The Goebbels Experiment
2005
Leni Riefenstahl: Her Dream of Africa
2003
Underwater Impressions
2002
The Immoderation of Me - Sandra Maischberger meets Leni Riefenstahl
2002
From Stag Beetle to Swastika
2002
Birth of a Nation
1997
The Night of the Filmmakers
1995
The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
1993
Time of Darkness and Silence
1982
Games of the XXI Olympiad
1977
Memories of Berlin: The Twilight of Weimar Culture
1976
Memories of a Summer in Berlin
1972
Lowlands
1954
Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty
1938
Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations
1938
Day of Freedom
1935
Triumph of the Will
1935
The Victory of Faith
1933
S.O.S. Iceberg
1933
S.O.S. Iceberg
1933
The Blue Light
1932
The White Ecstasy
1931
Storm Over Mont Blanc
1930
The White Hell of Pitz Palu
1929
Das Schicksal derer von Habsburg
1928
The Great Leap
1927
The Holy Mountain
1926
Ways to Strength and Beauty
1925