Although she maintained throughout her life that it was intended solely as a documentary, Triumph des Willens is remembered as one of the most successful propaganda films ever made. Riefenstahl released one last documentary on the Nazi party, Tag der Freiheit (Day of Freedom), which was specifically about the German Wehrmacht and was also released in 1935.

The last cinematic endeavour Riefenstahl made under the Nazi Regime was in two parts, documenting the 1936 Olympics. Fest der Völker (Festival of the Nations, 1938) and Fest der Schönheit (Festival of Beauty, 1938) were Riefenstahl’s most innovative motion pictures and won many cinematic awards at various film festivals across Europe, including the Gold Medal in Paris in 1937 and first prize in Venice for the Best Film of 1938. These films changed the face of cinematography, both technically and aesthetically.

During their production, Riefenstahl invented or enhanced several styles of filming which are still used in sports photography today. She was the first to put a camera on tracks and she developed several cinemographic styles to capture action such as slow motion, underwater diving shots and extremely high and extremely low shooting angles. Unfortunately for her, Riefenstahl’s reception in North America wasn’t nearly as strong. In 1938, she received an invitation from MGM to visit the United States, but as she landed shortly after Kristallnacht, the American population wasn’t very enthusiastic about her arrival and many of the Hollywood production companies she had hoped to visit began to boycott her films.

After the end of World War II, Riefenstahl spent several years in both American and French detention camps before she was officially released as a “Nazi sympathizer.” She wanted to make more films, but was confronted with resistance, sharp criticism, a difficulty to secure funding and even protests. So she spent her later years travelling as a photographer. She developed a keen interest in the Nuba tribes of Sudan and spent many years in the African wilderness documenting and then publishing two books on the traditions and customs of the tribes. At age 71, Riefenstahl took up scuba diving and was an active underwater photographer until well into her 90s.

Leni Riefenstahl died from cancer in Pöking, Germany on September 8th, 2003.

The Rise and Fall of Leni Riefenstahl

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