Searching for Winnetou

Winnetou remains a controversial cultural phenomenon. A young German "greenhorn" arrives in America and, as Old Shatterhand, earns the friendship of the Apache chief Winnetou. Together, they take on a ruthless gang of gold-hungry outlaws who incite Indigenous tribes against one another in their search for natural resources. Although filmed in Croatia, the Winnetou films shaped generations of Europeans' image of the American West. The documentary Searching for Winnetou explores the enduring fascination with these films while examining the ongoing debate surrounding the cultural appropriation of Indigenous cultures in Europe.