At the foot of the Chilean Andes lies an idyllic German colony where a terrible and traumatic history lurks beneath the bucolic surface. In 1961, preacher Paul Schäfer—a Nazi and later an ardent Pinochet supporter—established a closed, fanatical sect where child abuse, arms trafficking and the murder of political prisoners were routinely carried out under the aegis of religious devotion. Though Schäfer later fleed the colony, many of his followers remain living there to this day. Taking compelling testimony from three generations of residents, Songs of Repression is a careful and sensitive examination of a community still riven by the horrors of the past.

Please be advised this film contains references to child abuse which some viewers might find distressing.

UK Premiere

Screening includes a Q&A with directors Estephan Wagner and Marianne Hougen-Moraga, hosted by Chloe Trayner.

In partnership with the Embassy of Denmark. 

Read an essay on Songs of Repression by Beatrice Loayza.

Available: Block 2 (Sat 12th Sept Sept midday – Tue 15th Sept Sept midnight BST)

Please note: this film is only available to view in the UK.

“Marianne Hougen-Moraga graduated with a Master's in Screen Documentary from Goldsmith's University and a Master's in Media Science from University of Copenhagen. Hougen-Moraga has directed a number of short documentaries, such as Returned (2011), which premiered at CPH:DOX, and Sea of Sorrow – Sea of Hope (2017), which was nominated for a Danish Robert Award for best short documentary. Estephan Wagner graduated from the National Film and Television School in London. Originally trained as an editor in Germany, Wagner has been working as a documentary director for more than a decade. His documentary Les Sauteurs (2016) had European theatrical distribution, has been screened at more than 70 film festivals and has won more than 15 awards including at Berlinale and the Cinema Eye Spotlight award”