Documentary (91 min) · 2023

Korntal, a little town in the south of Germany, is the scene of the greatest abuse scandal ever to rock the Protestant Church in Germany. An estimated 150 former children from homes run by the Pietist Brotherhood have broken their silence: They are revealing the physical and mental horrors to which they were exposed. Many of them were victims of sexualised violence there at an early age. The 9,000-person town and its parish have responded to the accusations with disbelief and denial. They cannot imagine that this could have happened in their God-fearing town. However, pressure is mounting on the Protestant brotherhood – which still runs children’s homes – and it is initiating an inquiry. There is much contention about compensation and how to proceed with the inquiry. Many victims are being set back to their past by their testimonies being called into question and are describing the inquiry as further abuse. The film gives 6 protagonists the chance to tell their stories and to put to rights what they feel the inquiry report fails to disclose. A sensitive, profound treatment of a highly topical subject.

Credits

Director
Julia Charakter

DoP
Jonas Eckert

Producerin
Birgit Schulz

Editor
Jonas Eckert, Julia Charakter

Music
Leonard Küßner

Alto saxophone
Hannah Koob

Re-Recording Mixer
Volker Armbruster

Sounddesign
Marco Schnebel, Volker Armbruster, Timo Letzus

Animation/Grafik
Mick Mahler

Production company
Bildersturm GmbH

Co-Production
ZDF/Das kleine Fernsehspiel, GEO TELEVISION