Summaries

The inhabitants of a German colony in Chile share a dark past with violence and sexual abuse, but react in widely different ways when confronted with it today.

At the foot of the Andes Mountains in Chile lies an idyllic German colony. However, the beauty of the place contains a grim past. In 1961, the German preacher Paul Schaefer and his congregation moved to Chile with the stated aim of helping the poor. They established Colonia Dignidad (Colony of Dignity), which transformed into a closed sect. This film explores how the remaining residents of the colony deal with 45 years of child abuse, collective beatings and slave-like living conditions. It also reveals how people in the colony assisted Pinochet's dictatorship (1973 - 1990) in torturing and killing political prisoners and burying them in mass graves on their own 16,000 - hectare land.

Details

Keywords
  • violence
  • cult
  • chile
  • pinochet
  • colonia dignidad
Genres
  • History
  • Documentary
Release date Oct 20, 2021
Countries of origin Netherlands Denmark Chile
Language English German Spanish Danish
Filming locations Chile
Production companies Det Danske Filminstitut Final Cut for Real Viking Film

Box office

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 28m
Color Color
Aspect ratio

Synopsis

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