Doc Award Winner and Genocide Exposé 'The Look of Silence' Will Stream Free in Indonesia (Exclusive)
To commemorate International Human Rights Day on December 10th, the award-winning documentary "The Look of Silence" is being made available to the people of Indonesia as a free download. The film did show there in theaters. Director Joshua Oppenheimer is orchestrating this free access to the film in Indonesia in perpetuity with several partners: producer Signe Byrge Sørensen, Indonesian producer Anonymous, in collaboration with Us distributors Drafthouse Films and Participant Media, integrated digital platform Vhx and Danish film production company Final Cut for Real ApS. The Indonesian-language version of the film will also be available to stream for free on YouTube. "The Look of Silence," Oppenheimer’s companion piece to his Oscar-nominated "The Act of Killing," is the film he initially set out to make almost ten years ago. "The Look of Silence" has won over 45 international awards,...
- 12/9/2015
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
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50 fabulous documentary films, covering hard politics through to music, money and films that never were...
Thanks to streaming services such as Netflix, we’ve never had better access to documentaries. A whole new audience can discover that these real life stories are just as thrilling, entertaining, and incredible as the latest big-budget blockbuster. What’s more, they’re all true too. But with a new found glut of them comes the ever more impossible choice, what’s worth your time? Below is my pick of the 50 best modern feature length documentaries.
I’ve defined modern as being from 2000 onwards, which means some of the greatest documentaries ever made will not feature here. I’m looking at you Hoop Dreams.
50. McConkey (2013)
d. Rob Bruce, Scott Gaffney, Murray Wais, Steve Winter, David Zieff
Shane McConkey was an extreme skier and Base jumper who lived life on the edge, and very much to the full.
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50 fabulous documentary films, covering hard politics through to music, money and films that never were...
Thanks to streaming services such as Netflix, we’ve never had better access to documentaries. A whole new audience can discover that these real life stories are just as thrilling, entertaining, and incredible as the latest big-budget blockbuster. What’s more, they’re all true too. But with a new found glut of them comes the ever more impossible choice, what’s worth your time? Below is my pick of the 50 best modern feature length documentaries.
I’ve defined modern as being from 2000 onwards, which means some of the greatest documentaries ever made will not feature here. I’m looking at you Hoop Dreams.
50. McConkey (2013)
d. Rob Bruce, Scott Gaffney, Murray Wais, Steve Winter, David Zieff
Shane McConkey was an extreme skier and Base jumper who lived life on the edge, and very much to the full.
- 11/12/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards today announced the nominees in the youth, animation and documentary feature film categories for the 9th annual awards.
Also announced was the international jury who will determine the winners in these three categories before the November 26 ceremony at Brisbane.s City Hall.
The Australian contenders are Deane Taylor's Blinky Bill: The Movie and Molly Reynold's feature documentary Another Country,. in which David Gulpili. attempts to make sense of the contradictions of the modern Aboriginal experience. The nominees for best youth feature are Mina Walking (Afghanistan, Canada), Set Me Free (Geo-in, Republic of Korea), A Corner of Heaven (Tiantang jiaoluo, People.s Republic of China, France), Mustang (Turkey, Qatar, France, Germany), and River (Gtsngbo, People.s Republic of China), a recipient of the Apsa Academy Children.s Film Fund, written and directed by Apsa Academy member Songtaijia. Vying for best documentary feature are The Look of Silence (Indonesia,...
Also announced was the international jury who will determine the winners in these three categories before the November 26 ceremony at Brisbane.s City Hall.
The Australian contenders are Deane Taylor's Blinky Bill: The Movie and Molly Reynold's feature documentary Another Country,. in which David Gulpili. attempts to make sense of the contradictions of the modern Aboriginal experience. The nominees for best youth feature are Mina Walking (Afghanistan, Canada), Set Me Free (Geo-in, Republic of Korea), A Corner of Heaven (Tiantang jiaoluo, People.s Republic of China, France), Mustang (Turkey, Qatar, France, Germany), and River (Gtsngbo, People.s Republic of China), a recipient of the Apsa Academy Children.s Film Fund, written and directed by Apsa Academy member Songtaijia. Vying for best documentary feature are The Look of Silence (Indonesia,...
- 9/29/2015
- by Staff writer
- IF.com.au
Documentary festival to focus on
DocAviv, Israel’s top documentary festival, has finalized the selection for its 17th edition (May 7-16).
With a solid reputation to defend, the festival will kick off with Laura Poitras’ Academy Award winner Citizenfour, whose theme, the onging Edward Snowden saga, fits one of the festival’s main concerns - “(un)Free World”.
Some 13 Israeli films have been selected to compete in the Docaviv Isreali Film Competition.
A total 11 world premieres are competing for The Sarah and Michael Sela Prize
The $18,000 (Nis 70,000) award is the largest prize for documentary filmmaking offered anywhere in Israel.
Some 75 Israeli films have been submitted to the Israeli competition. Well known names among the contenders include: Reuven Brodsky with 7 Days in St. Petersburg, whose previous film Home Movie has won the 2012 Docaviv competition, Avigail Sperber produced Girsa De’Yankuta by Noa Roth, Censored Voices by Mor Loushy which premiered in Sundance and Twilight of a Life, which...
DocAviv, Israel’s top documentary festival, has finalized the selection for its 17th edition (May 7-16).
With a solid reputation to defend, the festival will kick off with Laura Poitras’ Academy Award winner Citizenfour, whose theme, the onging Edward Snowden saga, fits one of the festival’s main concerns - “(un)Free World”.
Some 13 Israeli films have been selected to compete in the Docaviv Isreali Film Competition.
A total 11 world premieres are competing for The Sarah and Michael Sela Prize
The $18,000 (Nis 70,000) award is the largest prize for documentary filmmaking offered anywhere in Israel.
Some 75 Israeli films have been submitted to the Israeli competition. Well known names among the contenders include: Reuven Brodsky with 7 Days in St. Petersburg, whose previous film Home Movie has won the 2012 Docaviv competition, Avigail Sperber produced Girsa De’Yankuta by Noa Roth, Censored Voices by Mor Loushy which premiered in Sundance and Twilight of a Life, which...
- 4/2/2015
- by dfainaru@netvision.net.il (Edna Fainaru)
- ScreenDaily
Amy Schumer and Bill Hader in TrainwreckPhoto: Universal Pictures With Sundance just wrapping up and Berlin starting up in a few days, we are now immersed in the year-long barrage of film festivals. One such festival in South By Southwest. A few weeks back they announced the first seven films of their program, including the opening night film Brand: A Second Coming. Today, they have revealed the rest of the features to be shown in March (except for the midnight program), and some of it has me very excited. The bigger titles announced do not do much for me. Paul Feig's Spy, starring Melissa McCarthy, and the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart starrer Get Hard leave a lot to be desired in terms of anticipation, as does a work in progress cut of Judd Apatow's latest film Trainwreck. I'm guessing an Apatow work in progress is probably around three and a half hours.
- 2/3/2015
- by Mike Shutt
- Rope of Silicon
The Look of Silence
Written and directed by Joshua Oppenheimer
For those who already have a low opinion of humanity, The Look of Silence will do little to alleviate your misanthropy. It’s a gorgeously-crafted documentary, and it will likely resonate with people of at least decent moral standing, but it depicts humanity at their worst, and offers no hope at the end. A unnervingly tranquil depiction of men as monsters, Joshua Oppenheimer’s film attempts to confront the leaders of the 1960s Indonesian Genocide, a one-sided civil war that resulted in the deaths of over 1 million people. The killers admit to nothing, of course, and the elected officials–”elected”– write off the genocide as “politics.” Children are programmed to think that those who were murdered deserved it: they were communists, Godless heathens, sinners. Victims’ families don’t dare address the decades-long suppression of truth because subversives are still killed in Indonesia today.
Written and directed by Joshua Oppenheimer
For those who already have a low opinion of humanity, The Look of Silence will do little to alleviate your misanthropy. It’s a gorgeously-crafted documentary, and it will likely resonate with people of at least decent moral standing, but it depicts humanity at their worst, and offers no hope at the end. A unnervingly tranquil depiction of men as monsters, Joshua Oppenheimer’s film attempts to confront the leaders of the 1960s Indonesian Genocide, a one-sided civil war that resulted in the deaths of over 1 million people. The killers admit to nothing, of course, and the elected officials–”elected”– write off the genocide as “politics.” Children are programmed to think that those who were murdered deserved it: they were communists, Godless heathens, sinners. Victims’ families don’t dare address the decades-long suppression of truth because subversives are still killed in Indonesia today.
- 9/22/2014
- by Greg Cwik
- SoundOnSight
My neighbors were children when Hitler ruled Germany, gifted innocence by virtue of being born late enough but damned to the fallout of a divided country by being born too early. Every time we talk about the war, Oma signals that she’s done reliving the past by saying, “There are bad men in every country, there are good men in every country.” When she first said it, I thought it was a defense mechanism. A reminder for herself and for us as outsiders that they recognize a pitch dark evil that now goes greatly unspoken. When she repeated the mantra in subsequent conversations, I realized that it’s the required coda that recognizes the real lesson of the Holocaust: it isn’t only Germany that has the capacity for large-scale terror, it’s every society in the world. There’s a woman in Anonymous and Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence that looks remarkably like...
- 9/21/2014
- by Scott Beggs
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Given the enormity of the festival, with all its glitz and glamour and galas, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the Toronto International Film Festival is one of the premier destinations for the top documentaries of the year. Curated by Thom Powers and his team, the selection here definitely leans towards the cinematic, where a compelling narrative and well-assembled, cohesive film is often as important as any journalistic intent of the work. With dozens of films to choose from, along several nonfiction titles that play outside the already impressive Tiff Docs slate, this year once again reestablishes the festival as the place to see some of the finest documentaries from around the world. Of the dozen-and-a-half selections I screened this year, here are the six best documentaries of Tiff ’14: The Look of Silence This quiet, contemplative film at times belies the sheer enormity of its accomplishment. Joshua Oppenheimer and his team of collaborators (often simply...
- 9/16/2014
- by Nonfics.com
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
2013 was an unusually rich year for movies. I felt strongly about both my top ten choices of the year and the runners-up, and I still left off a ton of movies that I enjoyed completely and that I'd recommend to audiences. One of the things that is hardest for me to get my head around when contemplating the Oscars is the idea of picking one thing to represent the year in each of these categories. Still, if I were told today that I had an Oscar ballot and I was asked to vote, the only way I could do it would be operating from pure gut feeling. I wouldn't worry about trying to predict anyone else's response. This was an annual exercise for Siskel and Ebert for years, and they always seemed to use the opportunity to champion what they felt were the underdogs of the nominations. We'll run down every category here.
- 2/25/2014
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
Oscar 2014 predictions: From ‘Gravity’ to ‘The Great Gatsby’ (photo: George Clooney in ‘Gravity’) See previous post: "Oscar 2014 Predictions: From ‘American Hustle’ to ‘The Hunt.’" Among those listed are Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lawrence, David O. Russell, Jared Leto, Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett, Sally Hawkins, Judi Dench, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael Fassbender, Steve McQueen, Bruce Dern, June Squibb, James Gandolfini, Alfonso Cuarón, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, and Emma Thompson. Below is the follow up list to our last-minute Oscar 2014 predictions. All lists are in alphabetical order. The only categories that feature runners-up and long shots are the two screenplay categories. Curiously, several major movies and/or widely touted potential Oscar contenders have been completely shut out of our Oscar 2014 predictions (top five films). Among these are Zack Snyder-Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel; Lee Daniels-Forest Whitaker’s The Butler; Denis Villeneuve-...
- 1/16/2014
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Earlier this week, Drafthouse Films released one of the most critically-acclaimed films of the year, The Act of Killing, on Blu-ray and DVD, which includes both the 122-minute theatrical cut and the 166-minute director's cut. This compelling documentary from director Joshua Oppenheimer examines the country of Indnonesia, where leaders of brutal death squads are celebrated as heroes. We have an exclusive clip featuring commentary with Joshua Oppenheimer and executive producer Werner Herzog, who break down a scene that can only be seen in the director's cut.
In this inventive and critically-acclaimed documentary by Joshua Oppenheimer and executive produced by documentary titans, Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life) and Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War), the filmmakers examine a country where Indonesian death squad leaders are celebrated as heroes, challenging them to reenact their real-life mass-killings via musical numbers,...
In this inventive and critically-acclaimed documentary by Joshua Oppenheimer and executive produced by documentary titans, Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life) and Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War), the filmmakers examine a country where Indonesian death squad leaders are celebrated as heroes, challenging them to reenact their real-life mass-killings via musical numbers,...
- 1/10/2014
- by MovieWeb
- MovieWeb
San Francisco Film Critics Awards 2013: ’12 Years a Slave,’ Chiwetel Ejiofor win (photo: Michael Fassbender and Chiwetel Ejiofor in ’12 Years a Slave’) The 2013 San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards were announced this past Sunday, December 15, at a gathering of 31 Bay Area film critics at the Variety Club Preview Room on Market Street. Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave was chosen as the Best Picture of 2013; additionally, the slavery drama earned John Ridley the Best Adapted Screenplay Award, while Chiwetel Ejiofor was voted Best Actor for his performance as free man Solomon Northup, who was kidnapped and forced into slave work at a Southern plantation in the 1850s. However, Gravity received the most awards from the San Francisco Film Critics: four in all, namely, Best Director for Alfonso Cuarón, Best Film Editing (Cuarón and Mark Sanger), Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki), and Best Production Design (Andy Nicholson). Starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney,...
- 12/18/2013
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Leonardo DiCaprio, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’: 2013 San Francisco Film Critics Awards nominations (photo: Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’) There were few surprises among the nominations for the 2013 San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards. First of all, the somewhat surprising absentees: Amy Adams and Christian Bale for American Hustle; Emma Thompson for Saving Mr. Banks; Julia Roberts for August: Osage County; Forest Whitaker for The Butler; Tom Hanks for Captain Phillips; Joaquin Phoenix for Her; Oscar Isaac for Inside Llewyn Davis. Additionally, Spike Jonze’s Her is missing from the Best Picture roster, even though Jonze was nominated in both the Best Director and Best Original Screenplay categories. (See San Francisco Film Critics Awards 2013 Winners.) Now, among the surprising inclusions are Best Actress nominee Brie Larson for Destin Cretton’s Short Term 12 (Larson is turning out to be 2013′s Elizabeth Olsen — think Martha Marcy May Marlene...
- 12/15/2013
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Los Angeles Film Critics Awards winners 2013 (photo: Sandra Bullock in ‘Gravity’) The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (Lafca), which has been around since the early ’70s, announced earlier today, December 8, 2013, their list of 2013 winners and runners-up. Although there were a handful of offbeat choices, what’s most surprising is how mainstream were most of the Los Angeles Film Critics’ picks this year — Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity was the top film, with a total of four wins — and that there were no less than three ties, including one for Best Picture: Gravity and Spike Jonze’s Her. See below. (See also: Full list of Boston Society of Film Critics 2013 winners.) Best Picture (tie): Gravity and Her. Best Foreign-Language Film: Blue Is the Warmest Color, directed by Abdellatif Kechiche. Runner-up: The Great Beauty, directed by Paolo Sorrentino. Best Documentary: Stories We Tell, directed by Sarah Polley Runner-up: The Act of Killing,...
- 12/8/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
12 Years a Slave tops Boston Film Critics Society 2013 Awards (photo: Michael Fassbender and Chiwetel Ejiofor in ’12 Years a Slave’) The Boston Society of Film Critics announced its 2013 winners earlier today. They were much quicker at it than their fellow critics on the West Coast; the Los Angeles Film Critics Association members have been debating their favorites for the past two hours and a half hours. In Boston, the film critics selected 12 Years a Slave as the top film of 2013. Steve McQueen’s slavery drama won awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays a free black man kidnapped and forced into slavery in a Southern plantation. 12 Years a Slave is the second movie in a row to be a major awards-season contender, following Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, which ultimately won Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Christoph Waltz). Boston...
- 12/8/2013
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
Infinite Anticipation
Here at the Vienna International Film Festival there are no multiplexes devoted to the festival. Every cinema is a single screen—all quite beautiful and some, like the Urania, Metro, Künstlerhaus, and Austrian Film Museum, very special indeed—and, scattered at a bit of a distance from one another, they trace a lopsided kind of ellipsis, a loop of cinema if you plan your itinerary right.
Above: Out 1, noli me tangere.
I came anticipating this particular suggestion of cinematic infinity, not just because of my memories of the last two years of repeatedly treading this touring path around the constrained city center of Vienna, but because of the promise of a much desired (by Jonathan Rosenbaum since 1996, and thereafter by an untold multitude of tantalized cinephiles) festival pairing of Jacques Rivette and Suzanne Schiffman's improvised serial intended for television, Out 1, noli me tangere (1971), and Louis Feuillade's...
Here at the Vienna International Film Festival there are no multiplexes devoted to the festival. Every cinema is a single screen—all quite beautiful and some, like the Urania, Metro, Künstlerhaus, and Austrian Film Museum, very special indeed—and, scattered at a bit of a distance from one another, they trace a lopsided kind of ellipsis, a loop of cinema if you plan your itinerary right.
Above: Out 1, noli me tangere.
I came anticipating this particular suggestion of cinematic infinity, not just because of my memories of the last two years of repeatedly treading this touring path around the constrained city center of Vienna, but because of the promise of a much desired (by Jonathan Rosenbaum since 1996, and thereafter by an untold multitude of tantalized cinephiles) festival pairing of Jacques Rivette and Suzanne Schiffman's improvised serial intended for television, Out 1, noli me tangere (1971), and Louis Feuillade's...
- 11/3/2013
- by Daniel Kasman
- MUBI
Chicago – We like to think that mass murderers are pure monsters. They don’t have kids. They don’t walk around free. They couldn’t possibly have a moment of joy after causing so much pain. This is, of course, nothing more than a comforting fallacy.
And yet film has had a very difficult time of tearing down this façade. Even documentary films often present their killers as pure villains. This is not to say that Joshua Oppenheimer, the director of the mesmerizing “The Act of Killing,” lets his subjects off the hook, but he allows the process of filmmaking and the act of remembering to do the judging for him. This film is jaw-dropping. It’s a must-see.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
In 1965, there was a failed coup in Indonesia, which led to the formation of murder squads, men who prowled the cities and countryside in search of men, women, and children deemed “Communists.
And yet film has had a very difficult time of tearing down this façade. Even documentary films often present their killers as pure villains. This is not to say that Joshua Oppenheimer, the director of the mesmerizing “The Act of Killing,” lets his subjects off the hook, but he allows the process of filmmaking and the act of remembering to do the judging for him. This film is jaw-dropping. It’s a must-see.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
In 1965, there was a failed coup in Indonesia, which led to the formation of murder squads, men who prowled the cities and countryside in search of men, women, and children deemed “Communists.
- 8/12/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Drafthouse Films has unveiled a new Mondo poster on behalf of director Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act Of Killing. The upcoming documentary from executive producers Errol Morris & Werner Herzog opens in select theaters starting this Friday, July 19.
Artist: Jay Shaw
In this chilling and inventive documentary, executive produced by Errol Morris (The Fog Of War) and Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man), the filmmakers examine a country where death squad leaders are celebrated as heroes, challenging them to reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of the American movies they love.
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.
Shaking audiences at the 2012 Toronto and Telluride Film Festivals, The Act Of Killing is an unprecedented film and, according to the Los Angeles Times, “could well change how you view the documentary form.
Artist: Jay Shaw
In this chilling and inventive documentary, executive produced by Errol Morris (The Fog Of War) and Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man), the filmmakers examine a country where death squad leaders are celebrated as heroes, challenging them to reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of the American movies they love.
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.
Shaking audiences at the 2012 Toronto and Telluride Film Festivals, The Act Of Killing is an unprecedented film and, according to the Los Angeles Times, “could well change how you view the documentary form.
- 7/18/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Joshua Oppenheimer's bloody documentary restaging a wave of mass killings in 1960s Indonesia leaves our critic dumbfounded
This bone-chilling documentary opens with a quote from Voltaire ("All murderers are punished, unless they kill in large numbers, and to the sound of trumpets"), which gives way to the sight of dancers emerging from a giant fish, a black-clad priest and man in garish electric-blue drag conducting some ecstatic service at the foot of a waterfall, while a directorial voice commands: "Smile! Don't let the cameras catch you looking bad!" The film ends with the sound of someone retching up their tortured soul, an awful, growling, vomitous howl, like an anguished demon being wrenched from a fragile body. In between, we find ourselves looking long into an abyss in which unspeakable horror and utterly mundane madness are thrown together in the existential equivalent of the Large Hadron Collider – fact and fiction...
This bone-chilling documentary opens with a quote from Voltaire ("All murderers are punished, unless they kill in large numbers, and to the sound of trumpets"), which gives way to the sight of dancers emerging from a giant fish, a black-clad priest and man in garish electric-blue drag conducting some ecstatic service at the foot of a waterfall, while a directorial voice commands: "Smile! Don't let the cameras catch you looking bad!" The film ends with the sound of someone retching up their tortured soul, an awful, growling, vomitous howl, like an anguished demon being wrenched from a fragile body. In between, we find ourselves looking long into an abyss in which unspeakable horror and utterly mundane madness are thrown together in the existential equivalent of the Large Hadron Collider – fact and fiction...
- 6/29/2013
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Director Joshua Oppenheimer and executive producers Errol Morris and Werner Herzog explore Indonesian death squads in two trailers for The Act of Killing. This documentary takes a look at these brutal killers, who are celebrated as heroes, while they reenact their killings in the style of American movies. Take a look at the latest footage from this powerful film, in theaters July 19.
The Act Of Killing - Trailer
The Act Of Killing - Trailer 2
In this chilling and inventive documentary, executive produced by Errol Morris (The Fog of War) and Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man), the filmmakers examine a country where death squad leaders are celebrated as heroes, challenging them to reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of the American movies they love. 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.
The Act Of Killing - Trailer
The Act Of Killing - Trailer 2
In this chilling and inventive documentary, executive produced by Errol Morris (The Fog of War) and Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man), the filmmakers examine a country where death squad leaders are celebrated as heroes, challenging them to reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of the American movies they love. 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.
- 5/28/2013
- by MovieWeb
- MovieWeb
Another year and another great festival wraps up deep in the heart of Texas. As the curtains draw to a close on the Paramount and the music fades, Friday marked the end of another great festival at South by Southwest. With over a hundred films screened, this year’s festival has introduced a plethora of great films to audiences. The festival has been a chance to showcase big headliners like Evil Dead as well as highlight fantastic indies like Zero Charisma. The greatest thing about these festivals is the air of collaboration between various artists, admirers, and professionals alike. Hearing a conversation between a music badge holder, film badge press, and interactive entrepreneurs sums up South by Southwest succinctly. It really captures the spirit of South by Southwest and reminds us why Austin is a true Mecca for creativity and collaboration. Signing off from Austin, TX, see y’all next year!
- 3/17/2013
- by David Tran
- SoundOnSight
The Act of Killing
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous, Christine Cynn
Denmark/Norway/UK, 2013
The documentary film opens with a pertinent and incredibly insightful quote by Voltaire followed by a surreal dance sequence of killers in drag set against a waterfall. After 1965 where the military overtook the Indonesian government, a martial rule was in place and all those deemed “Communists” (farmers, intellectuals, dissenters, ethnic Chinese) were murdered en masse. To carry out these killings, the government enlisted the aid of paramilitary groups such as the Pancasila Youth draped in orange camouflage as well as common gangsters. They carried out heinous war crimes, killing millions over the next decades.
The Act of Killing follows these men after forty years, approaching Anwar Congo, former killer, to create a film reenacting these killings. Along the way, Congo and many others face their heinous crime in a variety of ways from remorse to unadulterated pride and joy.
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous, Christine Cynn
Denmark/Norway/UK, 2013
The documentary film opens with a pertinent and incredibly insightful quote by Voltaire followed by a surreal dance sequence of killers in drag set against a waterfall. After 1965 where the military overtook the Indonesian government, a martial rule was in place and all those deemed “Communists” (farmers, intellectuals, dissenters, ethnic Chinese) were murdered en masse. To carry out these killings, the government enlisted the aid of paramilitary groups such as the Pancasila Youth draped in orange camouflage as well as common gangsters. They carried out heinous war crimes, killing millions over the next decades.
The Act of Killing follows these men after forty years, approaching Anwar Congo, former killer, to create a film reenacting these killings. Along the way, Congo and many others face their heinous crime in a variety of ways from remorse to unadulterated pride and joy.
- 3/16/2013
- by David Tran
- SoundOnSight
10. Leviathan
Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel’s follow-up to their fascinating depiction of traveling sheep herders in Sweetgrass, is this year’s quintessential art doc. With a myriad of weather-proof digital cameras strapped to a North America trolling ship, the film documents the grotesque nature of the commercial fishing profession on a very physical level. We slosh about the deck bathed in the blood of countless sea creatures while we watch weathered men be pelted by an ever present downpour as hungry gulls flutter against a black sky hoping to score some remains. This is Deadliest Catch without the embellishments of competition, personality or theme music and it is a purely guttural experience to be had.
9. Post Tenebras Lux
Carlos Reygadas’s latest is the only film on the list that debuted at Cannes this year that I’ve managed to see (I’m still patiently awaiting Holy Motors, Amour,...
Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel’s follow-up to their fascinating depiction of traveling sheep herders in Sweetgrass, is this year’s quintessential art doc. With a myriad of weather-proof digital cameras strapped to a North America trolling ship, the film documents the grotesque nature of the commercial fishing profession on a very physical level. We slosh about the deck bathed in the blood of countless sea creatures while we watch weathered men be pelted by an ever present downpour as hungry gulls flutter against a black sky hoping to score some remains. This is Deadliest Catch without the embellishments of competition, personality or theme music and it is a purely guttural experience to be had.
9. Post Tenebras Lux
Carlos Reygadas’s latest is the only film on the list that debuted at Cannes this year that I’ve managed to see (I’m still patiently awaiting Holy Motors, Amour,...
- 12/31/2012
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
The Act of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn and Anonymous’s jaw-dropping tale of war crimes, guilt and moviemaking, took the top prize at Cph:dox here in Copenhagen Friday night. The film, pictured above, boasts Werner Herzog and Errol Morris as executive producers and follows a group of former death squad leaders as they make Hollywood-style movies based on their murders of communists, ethnic Chinese and intellectuals following Indonesia’s military coup in 1965. Director Edwin (Postcards from the Zoo) presented the award and read the jury’s statement: “The Jury would like to award a film for its ability to show the construction of fear in a society and for its courageous re-enactment of the madness of the past, still echoing in the present.” As an Indonesian, Edwin added a personal testament to the film’s powerful confrontation of the country’s history. Accepting the award, Oppenheimer thanked the country’s community of survivors,...
- 11/11/2012
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Drafthouse Films, the film distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, announced today the acquisition of Us rights to The Act of Killing, the breakout Danish documentary that shook audiences at this year's Toronto and Telluride International Film Festivals.
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, the film ventures deep into the minds of former Indonesian death squad leaders who are challenged to reenact their real-life mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers. A 30-market theatrical release and awards campaign for Best Documentary Feature is planned for The Act of Killing in 2013.
Drafthouse Films released the first two photos from this thrilling documentary, which earned early praise from master documentarians Werner Herzog and Errol Morris. Their enthusiasm for the film lead to their role as Executive Producers.
Chronicling one of the most overlooked genocides in recent history, The Act of Killing utilizes dramatization to...
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, the film ventures deep into the minds of former Indonesian death squad leaders who are challenged to reenact their real-life mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers. A 30-market theatrical release and awards campaign for Best Documentary Feature is planned for The Act of Killing in 2013.
Drafthouse Films released the first two photos from this thrilling documentary, which earned early praise from master documentarians Werner Herzog and Errol Morris. Their enthusiasm for the film lead to their role as Executive Producers.
Chronicling one of the most overlooked genocides in recent history, The Act of Killing utilizes dramatization to...
- 10/31/2012
- by MovieWeb
- MovieWeb
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