World
Ghosts of Germany’s Past Evoked in Venice Films ‘Riefenstahl,’ ‘September 5’
Andres Veiel’s documentary “Riefenstahl,” which challenges the carefully crafted public persona of one of Germany’s most controversial directors, who was forever tainted by working with the Nazis, is one of 17 German films playing in the various sections of the Venice Film Festival.
A deep dive into Leni Reifenstahl’s previously inaccessible archive, the 160-minute film lifts the lid on secrets the director of the 1935 Nuremberg propaganda film “Triumph of the Will” struggled more than half her life to keep hidden.
Veiel, who was brought onboard to direct by producer Sandra Maischberger of Berlin’s Vincent Films – who had gained unfettered access to Riefenstahl’s archive after the death of her longtime companion and husband Horst Kette in 2016 – is untroubled by the film’s out-of-competition berth as he believes the festival is the right venue for its first showing.
“For me, it is the right festival for the film,” Veiel tells Variety. “The political situation in German and Italy is similar – with the rise of the right-wing, and a longing for propaganda and fake news. For a debate about the film, it is one of the best festivals for us.”
There are also ghosts of the past in Venice – Riefenstahl screened several of her films at the festival in the 1930s, including her two Nazi propaganda films, and her first feature “The Blue Light,” made in 1932. She even had a retrospective on the Lido in the 1950s, at a time when she was just beginning to construct a persona distanced from the Nazis, and – as “Riefenstahl” shows – largely built on lies.
Although not an easy film to watch – as Veiel succeeds in proving her apparent complicity in the murder of Jewish men in Poland and admiration for Hitler – “Riefenstahl” is likely to prove a hot ticket in Venice.
Another much-anticipated film, Tim Fehlbaum’s Munich summer 1972 Olympics feature “September 5,” is playing in the Horizons Extra competition section. Starring Peter Sarsgaard and John Magaro, and revolving around the sports reporting team of U.S. broadcaster ABC, who have to switch from covering track and field events to the Israeli athletes’ hostage crisis, it focuses on how tragic events can also challenge the moral compass of journalists covering them.
In Horizons, Scandar Copti’s “Happy Holidays” tells the story of a Palestinian woman whose double life is revealed after a car accident in Jerusalem, and “Quiet Life,” directed by Alexandros Avranas, focuses on a family of asylum seekers whose hopes of creating a new life in Sweden are dashed when their application is rejected.
Two German co-productions are screening in the main competition – Athina Rachel Tsangari’s “Harvest,” adapted from the prize-winning book of the same name about an unnamed English village that seems to exist in neither time nor place – before it disappears for ever. There is also the Italian-German-U.S. co-production, “Maria” by Pablo Larrain, which tells the story of opera singer Maria Callas.
Looking further ahead, German films are also heading to the Toronto Film Festival.
Key films in the lineup there include Fabian Stumm’s sophomore film “Sad Jokes” playing as an international premiere in the festival’s Discovery section. It focuses on the relationship between Joseph and Sonya – who are raising a son together although their relationship is platonic. Things go awry when Sonya has a breakdown, tearing Joseph’s attention away from a new film project – and the pain of a break-up with his ex-boyfriend, Marc.
Others already announced include “Edge of Night” by Türker Süer; “Seven Days” by Amil Samadi Ahadi, and “The Sunset Special 2” by Nicolas Gebbe.
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The United Kingdom on Monday blamed an Iran-linked proxy group for a string of antisemitic arson attacks targeting British Jewish sites, prompting the government to ban Tehran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and impose sweeping new powers to crack down on foreign-backed sabotage.
British officials said the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right (IMCR) publicly claimed responsibility for seven attacks this year targeting Jewish and Israeli-linked locations, as well as a Persian-language media outlet critical of Iran’s government. According to the U.K. government, members of the IRGC’s elite Qods Force were “almost certainly” directing the group’s operations across Europe.
The attacks included fires at synagogues, Jewish charity ambulances and other Jewish community sites in London. No injuries were reported.
DESANTIS ANNOUNCES PLANS TO USE NEW STATE LAW TO TARGET DOZENS OF ALLEGED TERRORIST GROUPS
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts a reception with the Jewish community to discuss efforts to tackle antisemitism, at Downing Street, in London, July 13, 2026. (Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool)
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the new measures send a clear message to foreign adversaries seeking to sow violence.
“We will never let Britain be a playground for states who want to spread fear, division and violence on our streets,” Starmer said. “Anyone acting on behalf of those who threaten our national security should be in no doubt that there is no place for you in Britain.”
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer discusses efforts to tackle antisemitism at Downing Street in London, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Suzanne Plunkett/Pool Photo via AP)
If Parliament approves the designations later this week, anyone carrying out acts of sabotage — including arson — on behalf of the IRGC, IMCR or Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps could face life imprisonment. Supporting or assisting the groups could carry prison sentences of up to 14 years.
The British government said the new authorities, created under the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, will make it easier for prosecutors to secure convictions because they will no longer have to prove a direct foreign government connection in every case.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood accused both Tehran and Moscow of relying on criminal proxies to conduct hostile operations inside the United Kingdom.
“Iran and Russia are using proxies and thugs to do their dirty work on our shores,” Mahmood said. “I have rapidly designated three groups so those working for them will be tracked down and put behind bars.”
ISRAEL FORTIFIES BORDER WITH JORDAN AS IRAN SEEKS NEW TERROR PATH
The government said IMCR emerged online earlier this year and has also claimed responsibility for attacks on synagogues in Belgium and the Netherlands. British intelligence officials say Iran-backed proxy groups have increasingly recruited members of criminal organizations to carry out sabotage, intimidation and physical attacks across Europe, often targeting Jewish communities and Iranian dissidents.
Charred remains of ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish community organization, which were set on fire in an incident that the police say is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime, in London, March 23, 2026. (Hannah McKay/Reuters)
According to the U.K., MI5 identified at least 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots against individuals in Britain over the past year. The government has already sanctioned more than 550 Iranian-linked individuals and entities and has pledged £250 million ($334,662,500) over three years to strengthen security for Jewish communities, including increased protection for synagogues, schools and community centers.
Britain also designated Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps, saying the group acts as a proxy for Russian military intelligence by recruiting individuals online to conduct sabotage, arson and other hostile operations.
The crackdown comes just weeks after two Romanian men were sentenced to prison for stabbing a journalist working for a Persian-language television station in London, an attack a British judge said was carried out on behalf of the Iranian state.
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Iran did not immediately comment on Monday’s announcement, according to The Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The European Union has sanctioned VK Company, which dominates Russia’s online sphere, for colluding with the Kremlin to identify critics of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and curtail access to independent sources of information.
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VK Company runs VKontakte, the country’s most popular social media site. Often described as “the Russian Facebook”, it has an estimated 70 million users.
The decision, taken on Monday by foreign ministers, points the finger at VK Company and an associated firm for developing and managing Max App, which is state-backed and comes pre-installed on all phones and tablets sold in Russia.
Citing experts, Brussels argues that Max App has “extensive surveillance features” that Russian authorities use to track online communications, gather data, monitor address books, identify user location and install autonomous updates.
The imposition of Max App has helped the state crack down on competitors, such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, and on VPNs, the private networks that Russians employ to bypass increasingly stringent state restrictions on the Internet.
“VK has cooperated with Russian authorities in their repressive actions, including by providing them with data concerning users of its services who posted content criticising Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, or other content banned by the authorities,” the legal text says.
“VK has also participated in the government-ordered ban on the use of VPNs, through which Russian internet users could previously access independent content.”
Monday’s decision introduces an asset freeze and prohibits EU companies from making funds available to VK Company. In a statement to Russian state-owned media outlet TASS, the firm said that its applications and services remained “available to users as normal”.
Besides VK Company, the EU also sanctioned Citadel, VAS Experts and Norsi-Trans, three companies that provide hardware and software for the so-called System of Operative Investigative Measures that Russian authorities use to track online communication and target journalists, opposition figures, minority groups and ordinary citizens.
The restrictions were adopted under a special regime dedicated to punishing human rights violations.
Separately, the EU sanctionednine individuals and four entities accused of carrying out “malicious” cyber attacks against several member states.
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