Editing Leni Riefenstahl (section)

==Dancing and acting careers==
[[File:Leni Riefenstahl, 1925.jpg|thumb|Riefenstahl (right) as a topless "Roman Bath" extra in ''[[Ways to Strength and Beauty|Wege zu Kraft und Schönheit]]'' (1925)]]
Riefenstahl attended dancing academies and became well known for her self-styled interpretive dancing skills, traveling across Europe with [[Max Reinhardt]] in a show funded by Jewish producer [[Harry R. Sokal|Harry Sokal]].{{sfn|Falcon 2003}}{{sfn|Infield|1976|pp=14–16}} Riefenstahl often made almost {{Reichsmark|700|link=yes}} for each performance.{{sfn|Infield|1976|pp=14–16}} She began to suffer a series of foot injuries, which led to knee surgery that threatened her dancing career.{{sfn|University of Washington 2008}} It was while going to a doctor's appointment that she first saw a poster for the 1924 film ''[[Mountain of Destiny]]''.{{sfn|Langford|2012|p=20}} She became inspired to go into movie making, and began visiting the cinema to see films and also attended film shows.{{sfn|University of Washington 2008}}

On one of her adventures, Riefenstahl met [[Luis Trenker]], an actor who had appeared in ''Mountain of Destiny''.{{sfn|Langford|2012|p=20}} At a meeting arranged by her friend Gunther Rahn, she met [[Arnold Fanck]], the director of ''Mountain of Destiny'' and a pioneer of the [[mountain film]] genre.{{sfn|Langford|2012|p=20}} Fanck was working on a film in Berlin. After Riefenstahl told him how much she admired his work, she also convinced him of her acting skill.{{sfn|Langford|2012|p=20}} She persuaded him to feature her in one of his films.{{sfn|Langford|2012|p=20}} Riefenstahl later received a package from Fanck containing the script of the 1926 film ''[[The Holy Mountain (1926 film)|The Holy Mountain]]''.{{sfn|Langford|2012|p=20}} She made a series of films for Fanck, where she learned from him acting and film editing techniques.{{sfn|Langford|2012|p=20}} One of Fanck's films that brought Riefenstahl into the limelight was ''[[The White Hell of Pitz Palu (1929 film)|The White Hell of Pitz Palu]]'' of 1929, co-directed by [[G. W. Pabst]].{{sfn|Langford|2012|p=20}} She had to undergo many physical challenges that would probably be deemed unethical in today's standards. Some of the torments included: being engulfed in small avalanches, jumping into mountain lakes and icy streams, climbing rocky pinnacles while barefoot, letting herself be pulled up a rock face being pelted by snow and ice, balancing on a ladder above a deep glacial crevasse, and enduring obscene jokes from her exclusively male colleagues.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rainer |first1=Rother |title=Leni Riefenstahl: The Seduction of Genius |date=1 October 2002 |publisher=Continuum; Reprint edition |pages=27–28 |edition=Reprint}}</ref> Her fame spread to countries outside Germany.{{sfn|Langford|2012|p=20}}{{sfn|University of Washington 2008}}

Riefenstahl produced and directed her own work called ''[[The Blue Light (1932 film)|Das Blaue Licht]]'' ("The Blue Light") in 1932, co-written by [[Carl Mayer]] and [[Béla Balázs]].{{sfn|Langford|2012|p=77}} This film won the silver medal at the [[Venice Film Festival]], but was not universally well-received, for which Riefenstahl blamed the critics, many of whom were Jewish.{{sfn|James 2007}}{{sfn|Hinton|2000|p=19}} Upon its 1938 re-release, the names of Balázs and Sokal, both Jewish, were removed from the credits; some reports say this was at Riefenstahl's behest.{{sfn|James 2007}} In the film, Riefenstahl played an innocent peasant girl who is hated by the villagers because they think she is diabolical and cast out.{{sfn|Langford|2012|p=20}} She is protected by a glowing mountain grotto.{{sfn|Langford|2012|p=20}} According to herself, Riefenstahl received invitations to travel to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] to create films, but she refused them in favor of remaining in Germany with a boyfriend.{{sfn|Müller 1999}} Hitler was a fan of the film, and thought Riefenstahl epitomized the perfect German female.{{sfn|Hinton|2000|p=19}} He saw talent in Riefenstahl and arranged a meeting.{{sfn|Hinton|2000|p=19}}

In 1933, Riefenstahl appeared in the U.S.-German co-productions of the [[Arnold Fanck]]-directed, German-language ''[[SOS Eisberg]]'' and the [[Tay Garnett]]-directed, English-language ''S.O.S. Iceberg''. The films were filmed simultaneously in English and German and produced and distributed by [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]]. Her role as an actress in ''S.O.S. Iceberg'' was her only English language role in film.{{sfn|Salkeld|2011|pp=14–16}}