In this daily 30-minute series of conversations, today Deadline's Matt Carey guides us through the world of Andres Veiel. Following the completion of Riefenstahl, the filmmaker is engaging with audiences worldwide. And with his upcoming tribute to Claude Lanzmann's Shoah, his fascination with historical material continues.

Haus des Dokumentarfilms (HDF) and Südwestrundfunk (SWR) are co-producing the 13-part series My Favorite Documentary, which will be aired on the ARD Mediathek from February 12, 2026, coinciding with the EFM Berlinale. Filmmakers such as Andres Veiel, Sandra Maischberger, Wim Wenders, Hanna Schygulla, Fatih Akin, Rosa von Praunheim and many others share which documentary has touched them most deeply. Their recollections of scenes, images and voices, possess an intensity, which leaves no doubt that the film in question has also shaped their own work and insights into social contexts. The series makes the artistic and emotional power of documentaries tangible and invites audiences to make new discoveries and to (re)view classics with different eyes.

The episode from Andres Veiel (a.o. Riefenstahl) focuses on Shoah (1985) by Claude Lanzmann. Lanzmann juxtaposed the archival footage shot with powerful interviews. Veiel describes Shoah as a film that demands responsibility: from the audience as well as from those who document it. A conversation about trauma and memory, about listening as a cinematic method, and about the power of documentary film to bring historical events into the present.