A Real Life ''SAW'' - THE COLONY Depicts Kidnapping/Torture of U.S. Citizen in Chile

Family Wants Schwarzenegger to Press for Investigation with
Chilean President
LOS ANGELES--(Business Wire)--
THE COLONY, an award-winning short film concerning the
disappearance of Penn State professor Boris Weisfeiler in Chile, will
make its Northern California debut at the Santa Cruz Film Festival on
May 13th. But the filmmakers aren't seeking awards - they hope the
screening will prompt Governor Schwarzenegger to bring up the case
when he meets with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on June 12th.

Boris Weisfeiler vanished while backpacking in Chile in 1985.
Although the official U.S. position was that he drowned, embassy
staffers in Santiago long suspected that Weisfeiler was picked up by
the Chilean military, who thought he was a spy, and turned over to
Colonia Dignidad -- a sinister religious sect run by former Nazis and
used as a political prison by the Pinochet regime. Neither the Chilean
government or the U.S. actively pursued an investigation into these
reports.

"I first heard about the case on Public Radio International in
2001, and I couldn't believe there were still Nazis down there killing
and terrorizing people, and nothing was being done about it," says THE
COLONY writer/director Steven List. His outrage led him to contact
Weisfeiler's sister, Olga, who'd been pursuing her own search for
nearly a decade.

The resultant film is a harrowing look at what likely happened to
Weisfeiler in the notorious torture center, and his sister's efforts
to discover the truth about his fate from indifferent U.S. officials.

Amnesty International estimates that more than 100 opponents of
Pinochet's dictatorship vanished at Colonia Dignidad. Paul Shaeffer,
the former Nazi who founded the colony, was captured in 2005 and
awaits trial in Chile on political murder charges. However, the case
is stalled due to opposition from government elements still loyal to
Pinochet. Shaeffer, who is 86, is pleading senility to avoid further
prosecution, and the judge in the case has rejected offers of help
from U.S. agencies, including the FBI.

Olga Weisfeiler worries that since Shaeffer quite literally knows
"where the bodies are buried," he will be allowed to die in prison,
taking the secrets of what happened at Colonia Dignidad to the grave.

"I'd like to ask Governor Schwarzenegger to bring up the issue of
my brother's disappearance with President Bachelet," says Weisfeiler.
Though he isn't a federal official, "An inquiry by (Schwarzenegger) in
such a setting will put pressure on public officials here and in Chile
to finally discover what really happened to my brother and who is
responsible."

THE COLONY screens on May 13th, at 2:00 PM. Press who cannot
attend may use this link to watch the film on-line:
www.stevenjlist.com

Steven List will appear on the Documentary and Docu-Drama
Filmmaking panel on Saturday, May 10th at 3:00 PM. Visit
www.santacruzfilmfestival.com for details.

For information on the Weisfeiler case, visit www.weisfeiler.com.

Glow Marketing
Chandra Lynn, 650-464-5708
chandra@glowmarketing.com

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