Films by Freya Arde

Germany 2024, 115 min
by Andres Veiel

A captivating insight into the private estate of Leni Riefenstahl, who became world-famous with her Nazi propaganda film TRIUMPH OF THE WILL but kept denying any closer ties to the regime.Leni Riefenstahl is considered one of the most controversial women of the 20th century as an artist and a Nazi propagandist. Her films TRIUMPH OF THE WILL and OLYMPIA stand for perfectly staged body worship and the celebration of the superior and victorious. At the same time, these images project contempt for the imperfect and weak. Riefenstahl’s aesthetics are more present than ever today - but is that also true for their implied message? The film examines this question using documents from Riefenstahl's estate, including private films, photos, recordings and letters. It uncovers fragments of her biography and places them in an extended historical context. How could Riefenstahl become the Reich's preeminent filmmaker and keep denying any closer ties to Hitler and Goebbels? During her long life after the fall of Nazism, she remained unapologetic, managing to control and shape her legacy. In personal documents, she mourns her "murdered ideals". Riefenstahl represents many postwar Germans who, in letters and recorded telephone calls from her estate, dream of an organizing hand that will finally clean up the "shit-hole state". Then, her work would also experience a renaissance, in a generation or two this time could come - what if they are right?

USA, Israel, Germany, France 2022, 141 min
by Dror Moreh

A thorough and sober examination of the US response to genocide and war crimes over the past 40 years. From the corridors of power in the White House and with Henry Kissinger, Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright as expert witnesses.After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US stood as the sole global superpower. With that title came the burden of being the moral guardian of the planet. But how does a power decide whether to intervene in conflicts beyond its borders? Dror Moreh’s immensely thorough film brings together the political elite – Henry Kissinger, Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice and others – to examine the motivations behind US interventions (and lack thereof) from the 1990s genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia, to the wars in Iraq and Syria in the 21st century. Contributing as a moral beacon in an extremely complex and sometimes terrifying field is the formidable Samantha Power, who was Obama’s personal adviser. A film for anyone interested in politics on a grand scale. [CPH:DOX]Oscar® nominated director Dror Moreh (THE GATEKEEPERS) returns with an examination of US foreign policy of the past 40 years in this striking documentary filled with insights of more than 30 political heavyweights including Henry Kissinger, Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice.Quotes: utterly engrossing'- Deadline, 'a deeply disturbing examination of genocide during recent decades' - The Hollywood Reporter