Our Heritage

Leni Riefenstahl — An Archive That Breathes.

La Tresor holds exclusive rights to one of the most significant and multifaceted image archives of the 20th century. We curate with responsibility — and with respect for the complexity of the work.

"Difficult heritage deserves a considered, dignified framework."

Leni Riefenstahl was one of the technically most brilliant filmmakers of her time — and at the same time a historically fraught figure. We engage with this ambivalence. Our mandate is not glorification, but appropriate exploitation with historical awareness.

Rights Catalogue

What La Tresor Holds.

Film Rights

Cinema · Streaming · Distribution
  • Das Blaue Licht (1932) — Direction & screenplay, re-release rights, international distribution
  • Tiefland (1954) — Complete film rights, restored version, all exploitation paths
  • Underwater Documentaries — Reef worlds, coral archives, ocean images from her late career
  • Sehnsucht nach Unschuld (2023) — Documentary of Riefenstahl's visits to the Nuba; commentary by Leni Riefenstahl; original footage from 1963–1975

All film rights include streaming, theatrical re-release, educational licences and short excerpts. Enquiries stating intended use.

Photo- & Publication Rights

Print · Exhibition · Digital
  • Africa / Nuba Images — Exclusive photo rights to the Nuba archive; book publication, exhibition, editorial
  • Underwater Photography — Corals, Maldives, Red Sea; all usage forms
  • Various Historical Material — By arrangement; archive research possible
  • Publishing Rights — All Riefenstahl publications, incl. biography „Fünf Leben" and „Schönheit in Eis und Schnee"

Print editions, exhibition loans and digital usage licences are negotiated individually. Exclusive rights on request.

Film still Tiefland (1954)
Tiefland 1954 · Complete Film Rights
Film still Das Blaue Licht (1932)
Das Blaue Licht 1932 · Direction & Lead Role
Leni Riefenstahl with the Nuba
Sehnsucht nach Unschuld 2023 · Nuba Documentary
Leni Riefenstahl as a diver
Underwater Reef Worlds · Coral Archive
TV · Streaming · Archive

TV Rights

  • Popstars (2000–2005)
    Reality music format · Legacy rights · Long-tail exploitation, archive licences
  • Fluch des Falken (2012–2016)
    Coming-of-age series · Complete series rights · Streaming, international distribution

Film

Das Blaue Licht & Tiefland

Riefenstahl's feature films belong to the technically most avant-garde works of early cinema. "Das Blaue Licht" (1932) defined a new visual language for the mountain film. "Tiefland" (1954), locked away for decades, is one of the strangest and most fascinating productions in film history.

La Tresor manages both works as the complete rights holder — from theatrical distribution through streaming to educational licences for universities and film archives.

Underwater World

Silence Beneath the Ocean's Surface

In her final decades Riefenstahl literally dived — into the coral worlds of the Red Sea and the Maldives. What emerged is a unique archive: colour-intense, still, far from the political burden of her earlier work.

These underwater images are at the centre of La Tresor's "Born at Sea" philosophy. They connect the heritage with Vela.Art and the ocean as a common horizon.

Nuba & Africa

A Gaze That Endures

Riefenstahl's Nuba photographs from Sudan (1960s–1970s) are among the most discussed photographic documentations in ethnographic history. Susan Sontag criticised them; others celebrated them — the images provoke debates that have not fallen silent to this day.

La Tresor manages this archive with the aim of placing it in a scientifically grounded and culturally reflective context. Every exploitation request is carefully examined.

Our Stance

Curatorial Responsibility

We do not believe in suppression — neither of the work nor its historical burden. La Tresor positions itself as a responsible rights holder enabling considered exploitation: for scholarship, education, art and documentary investigation.

Those who work with us can rely on discretion, historical awareness and professional guidance throughout the process.

The Worlds of the Heritage

Two Archives. One Spirit.

Underwater

Corals, Light, Stillness

Riefenstahl's late underwater images were created far from the history that burdens her name. They show an artist who found herself in the depths of the sea. A poem of colour and form at once.

Africa / Nuba

Portrait of an Encounter

The Nuba photographs bear witness to an intense, years-long encounter between photographer and one of Africa's most visually fascinating peoples. Their controversy mirrors decades of cultural-political debates.

Licensing & Cooperation

Interested in a Collaboration?

Whether documentary film, exhibition, scholarship or publication — we examine every enquiry carefully and guide you through the entire process.

Send Enquiry