Research topic: Leni Riefenstahl

Leni Riefenstahl (Berta Helene Amalie Riefenstahl) , 1902-2003, German filmmaker, b. Berlin. A dancer and actress, she was began directing her own films in 1932. Her Triumph of the Will (1935) documented a huge Nazi rally at Nuremberg using such innovative techniques as moving cameras, telephoto lenses, and unusual camera angles to produce startling black-and-white footage with wide panoramas and striking closeups, thus dramatizing and glamorizing the ritualistic political event. The film brought her widespread attention as well as Hitler's favor, and she was commissioned to film the 1936... Read more