Act of Killing, The

Synopsis

In a country where killers are celebrated as heroes, the filmmakers challenge unrepentant death squad leaders to dramatise their role in genocide. The hallucinatory result is a cinematic fever dream, an unsettling journey deep into the imaginations of mass-murderers and the shockingly banal regime of corruption and impunity they inhabit.

“Unprecedented in the history of cinema” – Werner Herzog

“An absolute and unique masterpiece.” – Dusan Makavejev

Credits

Director:
Joshua Oppenheimer. Co-directors: Anonymous, Christine Cynn

Producer:
Produced by: Signe Byrge Sørensen, Final Cut for Real, DK. Co-producers: Torstein Grude, Piraya Film, NO & Joshua Oppenheimer and Christine Cynn, Novaya Zemlya, UK - in association with André Singer, Spring Films Ltd, UK. Executive Producers: Errol Morris, Werner Herzog, André Singer, Joram ten Brink, Torstein Grude, Bjarte Mørner Tveit.

Editor:
Niels Pagh Andersen, Janus Billeskov Jansen, Mariko Montpetit, Charlotte Munch Bengtsen, Ariadna Fatjó-Vilas Mestre

Original Music:
Elin Øyen Vister

DOP:
Carlos Mariano Arango de Montis and Lars Skree

Cast

Anwar Congo
Herman Koto
Ibrahim Sinik

Production details

Original title
The Act of Killing

Year
2012

Length
117 min, 160 min (Director's Cut)

Language
Indonesian

Subtitles
English

Format
DCP, HDCam

Production company
Final Cut for Real, DK. Co-producers: Piraya Film, Novaya Zemlya, Spring Films LTD.

Production country
Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom

Sales/Distribution
Norwegian distribution: Kudos Family, handled by Tour de Force. Festival distribution: The Danish Film Institute. International sales: Cinephil.

Website
http://theactofkilling.com/

Awards & Festivals

Nominated for the 2014 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature

Awards
Cinema Eye Honors Award for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
Cinema Eye Honors Award for Outstanding Achievement in Production
Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Documentary Feature Film
BritDoc 2013 Puma Impact Award
Gotham Award 2013 for Best Documentary
European Film Award 2013 for Best Documentary
Danish Film Academy Award 2013 for Best Documentary (Robert Prize)

Festival Awards
CPH:DOX 2012 – DOX:AWARD
Berlin Film Festival 2013 – Panorama Audience Award
Berlin Film Festival 2013 – Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
!F Istanbul 2013- Prize of the SIYAD jury (Turkish Film Critics’ Association)
FICUNAM, Mexico 2013 – Audience Award
ZagrebDox, 2013 – Movies that Matter Award
One World, Prague 2013 – Best Film
Geneva International Human Rights Film Festival 2013 – Gilda Vieira de Mello Prize
Festival de Cinéma Valenciennes 2013 – Grand Prize
Festival de Cinéma Valenciennes 2013 – Special Mention, Critic’s Jury
IndieLisboa 2013 – Amnesty International Award
BelDocs 2013 – Grand Prix for Best Film
DocumentaMadrid 2013 – First Prize of the Jury
DocumentaMadrid 2013 – Audience Award
Planete + Doc Warsaw 2013 – Audience Award
Planete + Doc 2013 – Grand Prix of Lower Silesia
DocsBarcelona 2013 – Best Film Award (Grand Prize)
Sheffield Doc/Fest 2013 – Grand Prize
Biografilm Festival Italy 2013 – Grand Prize
Grimstad Short and Documentary Film Festival 2013 – Grand Prize
Royal Anthropological Institute Film Festival 2013 – Basil Wright Prize
Human Rights, Human Dignity Int. Film Festival Myanmar – Aung San Suu Kyi Award for Best Documentary
Sheffield Doc/Fest 2013 – Audience Award
Traverse City Film Festival 2013 – The Stanley Kubrick Award for Bold and Innovative Filmmaking
BIAFF, Georgia 2013 – Grand Prix for Best Documentary
Nordisk Panorama 2013 – Best Nordic Documentary
Yamagata Int. Documentary Film Festival 2013 – Mayor’s Prize
Janela Internacional de Cinema do Recife, Brazil 2013 – Best Film
Bergen Int. Film Festival 2013 – Grand Prize (Checkpoints Competition)
Karama Human Rights Film Festival, Jordan 2013 – Best Feature Documentary

Critics Awards
National Society of Film Critics (US) – Best Non-Fiction Film 2013 (tied with “At Berkeley”)
National Board of Review – Top Five Documentaries
Vancouver Film Critic’s Circle – Best Documentary 2013
Chicago Film Critics Society – Best Foreign Language Film 2013
Chicago Film Critics Society – Best Documentary 2013
Online Film Critics Society – Best Documentary 2013
San Francisco Film Critics Society – Best Documentary 2013
Southeastern Film Critics Association – Best Documentary 2013
Online Film Critics Society – Best Documentary 2013
Toronto Film Critics Society – Best Documentary 2013
Boston Film Critics Association – Best Documentary 2013
Austin Film Critics Association – Best Documentary 2013
Central Ohio Film Critics Association – Best Documentary 2013
San Diego Film Critics Association – Best Documentary 2013
New York Film Critics Online – Best Documentary Award 2013
Boston Film Critics Online – Best Documentary Award 2013
Kansas City Film Critics Society – Best Documentary 2013
Florida Film Critics Circle – Best Documentary 2013
Danish Film Critics Association – Special Prize 2013 (Sær-Bodil)

Nominations
BAFTA – Best Documentary (TBA)
BAFTA – Best Foreign Film (TBA)
Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary (TBA)
Satellite Awards -Documentary (TBA)
Broadcast Film Critics Association 2014 – Best Documentary (TBA)
London Critics Circle for Documentary of the Year (TBA)
Directors Guild of America (DGA) – Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries
Cinema Eye Honors for Best Director, Best Editing and Audience Award
International Documentary Association Award for Best Documentary
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best New Filmmaker (Runner up)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association for Best Documentary (Runner Up)
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association – Best Documentary (Runner Up)
New York Film Critics Circle for Best Documentary (Runner up)
Chicago Film Critics Association for Most Promising Filmmaker: Joshua Oppenheimer (Runner up)
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association for Best Documentary Film
Phoenix Film Critics Society for Best Documentary