• Director(s):

    LHOTELLIER (Guillaume), CORRE (Emmanuel), OKI (Raimundos)

  • Producer(s):

    ARTE GEIE, YEMAYA PRODUCTIONS

  • Territories:

    Worldwide.

  • Production year:

    2023

  • Language(s):

    German, English, French

  • Rights:

    TV, DVD, NON-THEATRICAL, INTERNET, VOD

A wall of silence is slowly being torn down. In East Timor, people are starting to speak out against the actions of churchmen.

After the Vatican City State, East Timor is the most Catholic country in the world, with 97% of the population practicing Catholicism. During the bloody Indonesian occupation, priests played a key role in hiding, caring for and protecting the inhabitants fleeing repression and massacres. Ever since the country's independence in 2002, they have been considered true national heroes. 
This is the case of Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1996 and former bishop of Dili, the capital. Exfiltrated by the Holy See in 2002, he now lives a discreet life in Portugal to protect himself from the accusations that were made against him. 
Carlos Belo is said to have taken advantage of his position and status to abuse young boys for many years, inviting them to his house.
Another national hero, Father Richard Dashbach, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for multiple rapes committed on young girls in the orphanage he had run since the 1970s. 
This investigation is based on never-before-seen testimonies, in a country where the taboo surrounding these crimes reveals the predominant influence of the Church within Timorese society, as well as its disturbing cultural relationship with paedophilia.