[veronica]

I studied filmmaking in college. Leni Riefenstahl does not play much of a role in the history of movies. She's mentioned, mostly because she was female. A footnote, not a major player.

[CatoRenasci]

I'm sure your right, that she's not emphasized in academic film studies. However, when I was a graduate student in European intellectual history in the '70s, her influence was seriously discussed (along with Renoir, Eisenstein and others). The greatest praise I heard for her work came from some of the emigres who settled in Southern California, who disliked the Nazis seriouly enough to leave Germany in the later '30s (whether they were Jewish or not) but admired Leni Reifenstahl's talent.