During this special evening at Het Ketelhuis we screen the documentary Riefenstahl, followed by a talk with NRC film journalist Dana Linssen and archival researcher Monika Preischl.
Please note: the aftertalk is in English.
Leni Riefenstahl (1902-2003) is one of the most controversial filmmakers of the 20th century. The iconic imagery and cult of the body in Triumph of the Will (1935) and Olympia (1936) have become an inseparable part of contemporary visual culture. Given the destructive history and the aftermath of Nazism in Germany, their long-suppressed meaning has now come to the fore: the contempt for imperfection, for the so-called sick and weak, for the superiority of some over others. The aesthetics of her images are more relevant than ever. Filmmakers of all kinds have quoted them to depict the dangers of totalitarian systems, while those in power also deploy her style for their own greater glory.
Riefenstahl is largely built from material in Riefenstahl’s personal archive: private films and photographs, recorded phone calls with close associates and personal letters. Image by image, facet by facet, the film acts like a detective, uncovering fragments of her biography and placing them in a broader context of history and the present.
After the screening, Dana Linssen (NRC film journalist and curator of FilmForward’s Vrijplaats) talks with archival researcher Monika Preischl about how she gained access to the archive and how existing footage can answer new questions. And where it cannot. Riefenstahl reveals a great deal, but refuses to address her role in the propaganda of National Socialism.
This special evening is part of De Vrijplaats, FilmForward’s annual research programme, this edition dedicated to working with archives. De Vrijplaats Archief was developed in collaboration with Beeld & Geluid and is made possible in part by the Vevam Fund. The screening is made possible in part by Imagine Film Distribution.
Practical information
Date: Thursday 5 November 2026
Time: 18:30 – 21:00
Location: Het Ketelhuis, Amsterdam
Admission: €18 excl. VAT, including a drink at the networking drinks afterwards