Leni Riefenstahl interviewed by Kevin Brownlow
"If Leni Riefenstahl had done nothing but visit Africa and bring back her photographs, her place in history would be secure."
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The changes to the Nuba were due not so much to tourism-the changes to the Mesakin Nuba occurred before any tourists had reached them-as to Arabization, and eventually war. By the time Leni and Horst returned in 2000 for a reunion, virtually none of her old friends were left. The idea behind this trip was to raise money for the Nuba, and to see how they had fared after so many years of war in the Sudan.
"In Sudan, photographing naked people is a very grave offence."
"When we'd been there for just five hours, the police came with vehicles and we had to go back. The Bavaria Film Studios made a film about my last visit there two years ago, a full-length documentary, which is due out one of these days, and that shows everything that happened to us there. The cameraman was hurt in the helicopter crash. Yes, our helicopter crashed."
"Normally, you don't walk away from helicopter crashes. What happened to you?"
"I broke some ribs. My lung was damaged and I was very ill. As soon as it happened, I was brought back to Germany in a rescue plane, and I was in hospital for three weeks."
"What were you trying to film?"
"I wanted to film the reunion with our Nuba. The reunion after so many years. No, I didn't meet many. There had been a war meanwhile and most of them were no longer alive. We were only there 24 hours altogether. We didn't have much time to talk to them and only three or four of our old friends were there."
Leni Riefenstahl had travelled from the 20th century to the Stone Age. She had seen people living in perfect harmony with nature. And she had seen what "the plague of civilization" could do to them. One great benefit of civilization, however, is the photograph, that frozen moment of time. To receive such a record of Leni Riefenstahl's journeys is a priceless gift on the occasion of her centenary.
Kevin Brownlow
N.B. Parts of this essay which are quoted from The Sieve of Time by Leni Riefenstahl (Quartet Books, London, 1992) are denoted by the corresponding page numbers.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
The changes to the Nuba were due not so much to tourism-the changes to the Mesakin Nuba occurred before any tourists had reached them-as to Arabization, and eventually war. By the time Leni and Horst returned in 2000 for a reunion, virtually none of her old friends were left. The idea behind this trip was to raise money for the Nuba, and to see how they had fared after so many years of war in the Sudan.
"In Sudan, photographing naked people is a very grave offence."
"When we'd been there for just five hours, the police came with vehicles and we had to go back. The Bavaria Film Studios made a film about my last visit there two years ago, a full-length documentary, which is due out one of these days, and that shows everything that happened to us there. The cameraman was hurt in the helicopter crash. Yes, our helicopter crashed."
"Normally, you don't walk away from helicopter crashes. What happened to you?"
"I broke some ribs. My lung was damaged and I was very ill. As soon as it happened, I was brought back to Germany in a rescue plane, and I was in hospital for three weeks."
"What were you trying to film?"
"I wanted to film the reunion with our Nuba. The reunion after so many years. No, I didn't meet many. There had been a war meanwhile and most of them were no longer alive. We were only there 24 hours altogether. We didn't have much time to talk to them and only three or four of our old friends were there."
Leni Riefenstahl had travelled from the 20th century to the Stone Age. She had seen people living in perfect harmony with nature. And she had seen what "the plague of civilization" could do to them. One great benefit of civilization, however, is the photograph, that frozen moment of time. To receive such a record of Leni Riefenstahl's journeys is a priceless gift on the occasion of her centenary.
Kevin Brownlow
N.B. Parts of this essay which are quoted from The Sieve of Time by Leni Riefenstahl (Quartet Books, London, 1992) are denoted by the corresponding page numbers.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
Leni Riefenstahl - Africa
Hardcover + Box, 34.5 x 50 cm (13.6 x 19.7 in.), 564 pages
$ 4000.00
$ 4000.00
Leni Riefenstahl's remarkable Africa oeuvre. Limited edition of 2,500 copies worldwide, each numbered and signed by Leni Riefenstahl
