City of Toys

City of Toys (2024, 39mins) combines Alan Marcus’ 2001 interview with legendary filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl with an exploration of centuries of antisemitism. As she recalls of her iconic 1935 documentary, Triumph of the Will, on the annual Nuremberg Nazi Party Rally almost seventy years later: “I had no ideals. I only did my duty. It was a commission I carried out.” Beyond its notoriety in 20th century history, Nuremberg was also known as one of the toymaking capitals of the world and until the Nazi era many of its major toymakers were Jewish. Nuremberg still hosts the world’s largest trade toy fair. The film subtly intertwines narratives on Adolf Hitler and Riefenstahl’s representation of the Nazi movement with Nuremberg’s historical bedrock of antisemitism and the role of its Jewish toymakers. As film historian Robert Rosenstone has written of Marcus’ work, “I would call it a kind of poetic history that may in fact deny the possibility of history at all.”

Directed by Alan Marcus, City of Toys leans on a strong ensemble — Leni Riefenstahl, Adolf Hitler, Viktor Lutze — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 2024.