Leni Riefenstahl
Directing
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.
Known for
Directing9
movieLonging For Innocence
2023
Director
movieUnderwater Impressions
2002
Director
movieLowlands
1954
Director
movieDay of Freedom
1935
Director
movieTriumph of the Will
1935
Director
movieThe Victory of Faith
1933
Director
movieThe Blue Light
1932
Director
Acting42
movieFASCISM(s): A Film in Six Parts
2025
Self (archive footage)
movieRiefenstahl
2024
Self (archive footage)
movieCity of Toys
2024
Self (archive footage)
movieLeni Riefenstahl - The End of a Myth
2020
Self (archive footage)
movieChurchill and the Movie Mogul
2019
Self (archive footage)
Eiskalte Leidenschaft - Leni Riefenstahl und Arnold Fanck zwischen Hitler und Hollywood
2018
Self (archive footage)
movieHitler's Hollywood
2017
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
LENI
2015
Self (archive footage)
movieIn the Service of the Regime. Leni Riefenstahl
2009
Self (archive footage)
movieFaszination Bergfilm - Himmelhoch und Abgrundtief
2008
Self (archive footage)
movieThe Goebbels Experiment
2005
Self (archival footage)
movieGames of the XXI Olympiad
1977
Self - Spectator
movieMemories of Berlin: The Twilight of Weimar Culture
1976
Self - Interviewee
movieLowlands
1954
Martha
movieOlympia Part One: Festival of the Nations
1938
Nude Dancer - Prologue (uncredited)
movieS.O.S. Iceberg
1933
Ellen Lawrence
movieS.O.S. Iceberg
1933
Hella Lorenz
movieStorm Over Mont Blanc
1930
Hella Armstrong
movieThe White Hell of Pitz Palu
1929
Maria Maioni
movieDas Schicksal derer von Habsburg
1928
Maria Vetsera
movieThe Holy Mountain
1926
Diotima
Writing8
movieLowlands
1954
Screenplay
movieTriumph of the Will
1935
Screenplay
Editing7
Production6
movieLowlands
1954
Producer
movieDay of Freedom
1935
Producer
movieTriumph of the Will
1935
Producer
movieThe Blue Light
1932
Producer