The documentary ‘Riefenstahl’ forces us to confront the haunting intersection of media, propaganda, and complicity in shaping authoritarian narratives—and its relevance to our own time. Vinta Nanda writes…

The 2024 documentary Riefenstahl by Andres Veiel, a powerful exploration of Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl’s life and legacy, offers a crucial examination of propaganda, media complicity, and authoritarian influence on public opinion. By revealing Riefenstahl’s complex relationship with Hitler’s regime, Veiel’s film stresses the impact of political propaganda and its dangerous allure. As global democracies face rising authoritarianism and media corporatization, Riefenstahl is an urgent reminder of how easily truth can be manipulated by visual storytelling. In an era where biased media and populist narratives threaten democratic values, this documentary resonates deeply, prompting reflections on accountability and historical truth.

Photography: Vinta Nanda 

Revisiting History Through a Modern Lens  

In October 2024, Andres Veiel’s documentary Riefenstahl was screened by the IFC Film Club at The Nest in Bandra, followed by a Q&A with the film’s producer, Sandra Maischberger, and actor Arfi Lamba. Organized by filmmaker Kabeer Khurana and Executive Producer Deepti Chawla, this event followed the India premiere at the MAMI Mumbai International Film Festival, spotlighting one of film history’s most complex figures: Leni Riefenstahl. Known for her Nazi propaganda films Triumph of the Will (1935) and Olympiad (1938), Riefenstahl’s work serves as a powerful reminder of how art can be manipulated to legitimize and exalt regimes. As global democracies face new threats from corporate power, land grabs leading to displacements and ethnic cleansing, and rising authoritarianism, Riefenstahl invites a closer examination of how media can, knowingly or unknowingly, empower the powerful while disenfranchising the masses. 

  

Riefenstahl’s Legacy: Art and Complicity

The film’s deep dive into Riefenstahl’s life unearths new archival material, shedding light on her complicated relationship with the Nazi regime. Veiel’s access to her estate—letters, recordings, photographs—paints a nuanced portrait of a filmmaker who flirted with power, using her artistry to craft an image that concealed the brutality of the regime she worked under. The documentary reopens the “Riefenstahl Question”: Was she an unwitting artist swept up in Nazi ideology, or a collaborator who knew exactly what she was doing?

As we watch clips of Riefenstahl's triumphalist cinematography, we’re compelled to ask: Who benefits from this kind of seductive propaganda? In a time where capitalism is often in direct conflict with public interests, who bears the responsibility?   

A Mirror to Modern Media’s Role in Shaping National Narratives

In reflecting on Riefenstahl’s legacy, parallels arise with India’s current media landscape. Since 2014, mainstream Indian media and cinema have increasingly mirrored establishment narratives. With corporate-owned channels, selective appointments of ideologically aligned journalists, and films like Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story, media narratives now often promote specific agendas, echoing a homogenized, often divisive worldview that marginalizes minority and voices of underserved communities. The film Riefenstahl draws a clear line between such portrayals and the dangers of losing a free, diverse media.

The shadow of authoritarianism looms large over modern democracies. Corporate lobbying and media consolidation more often suppress democratic values than not, as public interests are traded for corporate agendas. Riefenstahl’s story, set in Nazi Germany, reflects an eerily familiar threat: the danger of a complicit media to democracy. Documentaries like Riefenstahl remind us that authoritarian regimes rarely begin with force; they thrive first through control of narrative, glamorization of ideals among the most excluded and those easily manipulated, and the selective erasure of inconvenient truths.

Reflecting on the Legacy We’re Building

Watching Riefenstahl, one can’t help but wonder about the legacy our media and film industries are creating for future generations. When we reflect on the 2014–2024 period, will audiences 50 years from now recognize the seeds of complicity in today’s media and politics? Media and entertainment have previously been used by establishments to promote agendas, but never as blatantly as in the last decade, where right-wing forces have wielded majoritarian narratives to instil fear of losing identity among the people.

“Hindu Khatre Mein Hai (The Hindu is in danger)”—a slogan that contradicts the reality that 80% of India’s population belongs to the Hindu faith—has instilled fear in millions, convincing them that their civilizational history and legacy are under threat. On the contrary, globally, Hinduism is gaining both popularity and recognition. Politically, in India, this narrative benefits an establishment closely aligned with powerful interests, resonating especially with marginalized groups, often overshadowing their own well-being as identity-focused rhetoric takes precedence. Fifty years from now, how will future generations view the priorities that favoured temples over schools, statues over hospitals, and populist rhetoric over inclusive, constitutional values? Will history absolve the journalists, authors, entertainers, writers, and artists complicit with today’s establishment, or will it condemn them, as Leni Riefenstahl is condemned today.

As the daughter of parents who bore the scars of India’s Partition, I understand too well the pain and displacement that arise when one is denied their home and heritage, the violence witnessed and the trauma endured by all, irrespective of the faith they follow. Like Riefenstahl, who selectively omitted the atrocities around her, are we, too, becoming silent bystanders to the displacement and marginalization around us? The question echoes: Who will shoulder the blame for today’s compromises?

Lessons from Riefenstahl’s Legacy

In revisiting Leni Riefenstahl’s story, Veiel’s documentary Riefenstahl serves as a stark warning and an important lesson. We must remain vigilant against media narratives that dilute democracy or obscure the truth. By recognizing how propaganda shaped history, we can better protect our democratic values from the allure of authoritarian aesthetics and the pressures of corporate power. Riefenstahl’s work may be the story of another era, but its relevance is undeniable—echoing across time as a cautionary tale for democracies to avoid repeating history’s mistakes.