De Propagandist

Through family films, propaganda footage, and audio interviews, the story unfolds of filmmaker Jan Teunissen (1898-1975), head of the NSB Film Service during World War II, and sometimes referred to as the “Dutch Leni Riefenstahl.” A tale of wounded ego, opportunism, and manipulation—timeless themes that still resonate today.

Following in the footsteps of a man with a camera, The Propagandist by Luuk Bouwman (Gerlach, Allen Tegen Allen) traces the rise and fall of filmmaker Jan Teunissen through previously unpublished interviews, family films, and propaganda footage. Before the war, he made films such as the documentary Sjabbos (1931), which captured Amsterdam’s Jewish quarter during the Sabbath, and the first major Dutch sound film Willem van Oranje (1934), which turned out to be a commercial failure. As head of the NSB Film Service, the SS Film Service, and as leader of the Filmgilde—earning him the nickname “Film Czar”— he could reclaim his position of leading Dutch cineast, and become the most powerful man in the film industry in the Netherlands during World War II.

The documentary delves into the roots and mechanics of propaganda. What drove Teunissen to actively contribute to the promotion of the Nazi regime? A film about boundless ambition seeking an outlet, opportunism, and the manipulative power of film and alternative facts—timeless themes that still resonate today.