A Place Called Dignity

• Matias Rojas
• 99 min
• Chile, Germany
• 2021
• Fiction

Chilean boy wins a stipend to attend school in an old German colony in this dark tale about a taboo part of Chile’s history.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, many Germans fled to Latin America. Colonia Dignidad in southern Chile was created by a former Nazi officer – among other things it is said that Doctor Mengele hid here – and was used for internment and execution during the Pinochet era. Through 12-year-old Pablo’s eyes, we see the German enclave, where physical training, discipline, and religion are the load-bearing pedagogical methods. As a top student he quickly becomes the colony leader Uncle Paul’s favorite, but once strange and disconcerting things start to happen he is forced to react. With an austere style, Matias Rojas creates a strong presence with a film that tries to heal the wounds of the past by making them visible and discussing them.

- Freddy Olsson

• Drama
• Historia
• Omskakande
• Uppväxt
• Politik