Emma Watson is to star alongside Daniel Brühl in new political thriller Colonia.

Directed by Oscar-winner Florian Gallenberger, the film is based on a true story during the Chilean military coup in 1973.

Watson and Bruhl play a young German couple called Daniel and Lena who find themselves in adversity during the political struggle.

After Daniel is abducted by Pinochet’s secret police, Lena tracks him down to a sealed-off village called Colonia Dignidad.

The Colonia appears to be a charitable mission run by a lay preacher, but it soon transpires that the commune is being used as a torture and detention centre from which no-one returns.

Lena is then forced to join a cult to stand a chance of being reunited with her lover.

Production on the film has already begun and is set to shoot in Luxemburg, Germany and South America.

Watson recently starred in Noah earlier this year, and has finished filming on new thriller Regression alongside Ethan Hawke.

After starring as Formula One star Niki Lauda in last year’s Rush, German actor Brühl has recently appeared in A Most Wanted Man and The Fifth Estate.

German director Florian Gallenberger has not helmed a film since City of War: The Story of John Rabe in 2009. He won an Oscar for Best Short Film in 2000 for his film Quiero ser (I want to be…).