One of the most eye-opening, chilling, fascinating, and frightening documentaries this year just premiered at the Venice Film Festival. It’s titled Riefenstahl, referencing the iconic & also infamous German female filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl. The film is sort of a biopic taking us through her life as a filmmaker, though it actually ends up being an indictment regarding her past association with the Nazis in the 1930s & 40s. It’s the latest film directed by acclaimed German filmmaker Andres Veiel, who previously made the excellent doc Beuys (which I saw at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival and wrote about back then). For much of the film, I was wondering if Veiel is trying to portray Riefenstahl as a misunderstood artist unfairly scrutinized, or if he was going to lean in on hinting she has always been a Nazi. It’s the latter. There’s no debate anymore. After watching scene after scene of irrefutable evidence (which she always refutes) this becomes an eye-opening experience. By the end, I couldn’t stop thinking this is a doc version of The Zone of Interest. It shows how a talented visionary artist who pioneered techniques could wholeheartedly support a dehumanizing ideology. // Continue Reading ›