Colonia Dignidad – The True Story
A true to life account of life under subjugation, abuse and torture. 44 years of repression.
In late 2015, a film entitled “Colonia” also known as “The Colony” made its way into theaters around the globe. Its plot told the horror story of a small fascist model state in Southern Chile, where a German preacher, Paul Schäfer, leads a cult that looked a picture of happiness. But it was a front for a secret alliance with dictator Pinochet of Chile. Introducing a rare instance where art represents life, Colonia Dignidad – The True Story picks up where the feature film left off. In the film as in reality, his enclave was a torture chamber for the enemies of the regime and members of the sect. It consisted of shattered familial bonds, spiritual cleansings and sexual deviancy. Using interviews, never before seen screen shots and archive materials from the site of the film, this documentary managed to present a truthful account of life under tyranny.
For research, the Oscar winning author and director of the film "Colonia", Florian Gallenberger, interviewed former members of the sect and collected a veritable amount of raw historical data. It was found that in the early 60s, due to a pending investigation into child molestation in the colony, Paul Schäfer emigrated from German with almost the entire community and settled in Chile. It was later revealed that during his time there he had sexually abused a number of children. In 2006, he was convicted of 25 counts of sexual abuse and following his conviction, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. This data, along with many more that were excluded from the feature film, was compiled with a series of newly filmed scenes to produce "The true story". The documentary presents an internal view of the despotic lives of the inhabitants of a small enclosed province.
Facts
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Original TitleColonia Dignidad - Die wahre Geschichte
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Year2016
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Length52' (GER, ENG subs)
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ResolutionHD
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Film byThomas Schaefer
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Produced by