SONGS OF REPRESSION
A documentary by
Marianne Hougen-Moraga & Estephan Wagner 2020
Synopsis
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 Schäfer 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.
In 2007, Schäfer was arrested and the colony opened up. During that process, the colony changed its name to Villa Baviera (Bavarian Village). Around 120 people still live there today. This film is about them – now. They work in agriculture and have turned the place into a tourist resort where you can relax, eat German cuisine and listen to yodeling. We meet those who completely deny the horrors and wish to only remember the bright moments, those who still today go through severe emotional struggles – and those caught in between.