The Propagandist and The Big Chief – two parallel films exploring the lives of opposing historical figures on either side of World War II.
The Documentary Film Competition at the 65th Krakow Film Festival featured 13 films spanning a variety of genres and styles. Among them were observational pieces portraying the harsh realities of individuals brought together in one place, such as Silver by Natalia Koniarzthat which was awarded the FIPRESCI prize; character-driven films centered on uniquely compelling protagonists; and intimate family dramas such as Child of Dust by Weronika Mliczewska, that won The Golden Horn. Notably, two standout films relied heavily on archival footage to delve into the lives of infamous historical figures. I would like to focus on these two fascinating and intellectually engaging works: The Propagandist by Luuk Bouwman and The Big Chief by Tomasz Wolski.
In the 1930s in the Netherlands, Jan Teunissen, a wealthy man with an expensive hobby, decided he wanted to make films. An amateur film enthusiast, he shot two short documentaries—one of which focused on the Jewish community in Amsterdam. Feeling ready for something grander, he went on to write and direct a historical epic about William of Orange, but the film was panned by critics and became a major flop. So he turned to editing films shot by others.
Ironically, Teunissen’s failing career was revived by the Nazis. When Germany occupied the Netherlands in 1940, he joined the Dutch Nazi party and was appointed head of the Department of Film for the Dutch Nazi Party and the SS. There, he was tasked with producing propaganda films. Teunissen proved highly effective in this role, ultimately becoming the most powerful figure in the Dutch film industry during World War II. He earned the nicknames “the Tsar of Nazi Propaganda” and the “Dutch Leni Riefenstahl.”
After the war, he was arrested and put on trial. Banned from making films, Teunissen relied on industry friends who gave him uncredited editing jobs to survive professionally.
At the heart of The Propagandist is a remarkable nine-hour recorded interview that Teunissen gave two decades after the war. In it, he still claims he “just wanted to make movies” and insists he did nothing wrong. This jaw-dropping, self-serving testimony is cleverly punctuated by present-day footage of Dutch historian Rolf Schuursma—the original interviewer—reacting to the recordings, which he hadn’t revisited in many years.
Clips from Teunissen’s films, including numerous home movies (he had two charming sons), as well as footage of him socializing with high-ranking Nazis, are edited together to create a psychologically rich, deeply ironic portrait of self-deception.
One of the most shocking revelations in The Propagandist is that footage from Teunissen’s early Jewish-themed short film, Sjabbos, was repurposed in Fritz Hippler’s infamous 1940 antisemitic propaganda film Der ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew). This discovery raises disturbing questions about the blurred lines between documentary and propaganda, and the role of propagandists in creating images and spreading misinformation.
Yet, this is not just the story of one morally distorted man. Teunissen employed many other Dutch filmmakers who collaborated with the Nazis—and were never held accountable. Archival clips and interviews conducted by another historian reveal how the postwar Dutch film industry remained riddled with unexposed Nazi collaborators.
Another powerful World War II story is brought to life in The Big Chief through a striking montage of archival footage. The film tells the Kafkaesque story of Leopold Trepper, a Polish Jew who served as the head of a Soviet espionage network operating in Nazi-occupied Europe, which earned the name The Red Orchestra. Captured by the Gestapo in 1942, Trepper pretended to collaborate and became a double agent, carefully manipulating both sides.
After the war, rather than being honored, Trepper spent ten years in a Stalinist prison, only to be cleared later by a Soviet court. Yet even after his official rehabilitation, he was forced to defend his actions for the rest of his life. In 1968, during Poland’s state-sponsored anti-Semitic campaign, he became a target once again—placed under surveillance and house arrest, and was not allowed to leave the country.
The Big Chief uses archival footage in a highly creative and evocative way, weaving together a compelling narrative of betrayal, resistance, and one man’s relentless struggle to clear his name and reclaim his freedom.
Yael Shuv
© FIPRESCI 2025