Andres Veiel's Documentary Positions Leni Riefenstahl as Post-Truth Pioneer

German filmmaker Andres Veiel's new documentary 'Riefenstahl' examines the life of Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl, arguing she pioneered post-truth tactics through her filmmaking and postwar public persona. The film draws on previously unreleased material from her estate, including letters, photographs, and private phone calls. It highlights how Riefenstahl manipulated reality in films like 'Triumph of the Will' (1935) and 'Olympia' (1938), commissioned by Hitler, and later performed victimhood on talk shows, denying knowledge of Nazi atrocities. The documentary also revisits evidence that she knowingly used Sinti and Roma concentration camp prisoners in her film 'Tiefland'. Veiel draws parallels between Riefenstahl's innovative propaganda techniques—aerial shots, underwater photography, slow motion—and modern far-right media strategies, including deepfakes and TikTok use by the AfD. The film arrives two decades after Riefenstahl's death, offering a comprehensive portrait that connects her legacy to contemporary debates on memory culture in Germany.