+ List of accolades received byThe Act of Killing Joshua Oppenheimer received many awards and nominations for his direction of the film. Accolades Award Won NominatedAcademy AwardAlliance of Women Film JournalistsAsia Pacific Screen AwardsAustin Film Critics AssociationAustralian Film Critics Association Film & Writing AwardsBergen International Film FestivalBerlin International Film FestivalBodil AwardsBoston Society of Film Critics AwardsBRITDOC FoundationBritish Academy Film AwardsChicago Film Critics AssociationCinema Eye HonorsCPH:DOXCritics' Choice Movie AwardDallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association AwardsDetroit Film Critics SocietyDirectors Guild of America AwardDorian AwardsDublin Film Critics CircleEuropean Film AwardsFlorida Film Critics CircleGolden Trailer AwardsGotham AwardsHollywood Reel Independent Film FestivalHong Kong International Film FestivalHouston Film Critics SocietyIndependent Spirit AwardsInternational Documentary Association AwardInternational Film Festival and Forum on Human RightsLondon Film Critics' CircleLos Angeles Film Critics AssociationMessage to ManNational Board of Review AwardsNational Society of Film CriticsNew York Film Critics OnlineNordisk PanoramaOne World Film FestivalOnline Film Critics SocietyRobert AwardsSan Diego Film Critics SocietySan Francisco Film Critics CircleSatellite AwardSheffield Doc/FestSt. Louis Film Critics AssociationToronto Film Critics AssociationTraverse City Film FestivalVancouver Film Critics CircleWashington D.C. Area Film Critics AssociationYamagata International Documentary Film FestivalZagrebDoxTotal number of awards and nominations References
The Act of Killing () is a 2012 Danish-British-Norwegian documentary film directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn, and an anonymous Indonesian co-director. The film explores the social significance of the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–1966 by focusing on the perpetrators and having them produce reenactments of the killings in the style of various Hollywood genres. The film's primary subjects had been petty criminals, but came to lead a powerful death squad during the anti-communist purge which resulted in the death of an estimated 500,000–2,000,000 suspected communists, communist sympathisers, alleged leftists, and ethnic Chinese. As many of the institutions and people responsible remained in power, those who carried out the killings were never held to account and continue to hold positions of power and respect. Oppenheimer was struck by the extent to which people not only rationalised but boasted about their participation in the killings, and used the film to explore the role the events continue to play in people's lives in the present. According to Oppenheimer, it is "about a regime in which genocide has, paradoxically, been effaced and celebrated – in order to keep the survivors terrified, the public brainwashed, and the perpetrators able to live with themselves."
The film first screened in September 2012 at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, and had its public premiere on July 19, 2013, in New York City. Its worldwide box office earnings totaled over $0.5 million USD, and it made $1.1 million in video sales. The Act of Killing has received worldwide critical acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, surveyed 137 reviews and judged 96% to be positive. Metacritic, another review aggregator, evaluated 30 reviews, finding an average score of 89 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".
The Act of Killing garnered awards and nominations primarily in the Best Documentary category and for Oppenheimer's direction, but also audience awards, special awards, and recognition for Signe Byrge Sørensen's production and editing by Janus Billeskov Jansen and Niels Pagh Andersen. Among its Best Documentary awards are a BAFTA, European Film Award, and a Robert Award, along with nominations for an Academy Award, Critics' Choice Movie Award, Directors Guild of America Award, Independent Spirit Award, and International Documentary Association Award. Included in many of the awards was the anonymous Indonesian co-director, who was unable to share in the recognition because of the danger posed by his or her participation.
The Act of Killing was screened only in underground venues in Indonesia, but its success led to media coverage there, generating controversy and opening a conversation about the past. In Oppenheimer's BAFTAs acceptance speech, he reported that the subject is receiving more attention, and that the film "is helping to catalyse a change in how Indonesia talks about its past". Oppenheimer also used the platform afforded by the awards to call attention to the "collective responsibility" of the United States and United Kingdom for "participating and ignoring" the crimes of 1965–66. When it was nominated for an Academy Award, the Indonesian government responded with a full-page statement about the killings and the film in the Jakarta Globe. The response marks the first time the government has admitted wrongdoing. The nomination also stoked controversy in China, where it had not been well known that Chinese people were the target of a significant amount of the violence.
Accolades AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s) and nominee(s)Result Academy Award 2 March 2014 Best Documentary Feature and Alliance of Women Film Journalists8 December 2013Best Documentary Asia Pacific Screen Awards 12 December 2013 Best Documentary Feature Film Austin Film Critics Association 17 December 2013 Best Documentary Australian Film Critics Association Film & Writing Awards1 March 2014Best Documentary Bergen International Film Festival 30 October 2013 Checkpoints Prize Berlin International Film Festival 16 February 2013 Panorama Audience Award Panorama Ecumenical Jury Prize Bodil Awards 16 March 2013 Bodil Special Award Boston Society of Film Critics Awards8 December 2013 Best Documentary BRITDOC Foundation 14 November 2013 PUMA Impact Award British Academy Film Awards 16 February 2014 Best Documentary Best Film Not in the English Language and Chicago Film Critics Association 17 December 2013 Best Documentary Best Foreign-Language Film Most Promising Filmmaker Cinema Eye Honors 8 January 2014Audience Choice Outstanding Achievement in Direction Outstanding Achievement in Editing and Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking and Outstanding Achievement in ProductionUnforgettables CPH:DOX 12 November 2012 CPH:DOX Award Critics' Choice Movie Award 16 January 2014 Best Documentary Feature Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards 16 December 2013 Best Documentary Detroit Film Critics Society 16 December 2013 Best Documentary Film Directors Guild of America Award 25 January 2014 Outstanding Directing – Documentaries Dorian Awards21 January 2014Documentary of the Year Dublin Film Critics Circle 18 December 2013 Best Director Best Documentary Best Film Breakthrough of the Year European Film Awards 7 December 2013 Best Documentary Florida Film Critics Circle 18 December 2013 Best DocumentaryGolden Trailer Awards30 May 2014Best Foreign Documentary Trailer Gotham Awards 2 December 2013 Best Documentary Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival23 February 2014Best PictureHong Kong International Film Festival2 April 2013Documentary Competition awardsHouston Film Critics Society8 December 2013Best Documentary Independent Spirit Awards 1 March 2014 Best Documentary Feature, , , , , , and Anonymous International Documentary Association Award7 December 2013Best Feature, , , , , , , and International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights 10 March 2013 Gilda Vieira de Mello Prize London Film Critics' Circle 2 February 2014 Documentary of the Year Los Angeles Film Critics Association 8 December 2013 Best Documentary Film , Anonymous, and Message to Man 28 September 2013 Press Jury Prize National Board of Review Awards8 January 2014Top Five Documentaries National Society of Film Critics 4 January 2014 Best Non-Fiction Film New York Film Critics Online 8 December 2013 Best Documentary Nordisk Panorama 25 September 2013 Best Nordic Documentary One World Film Festival 11 March 2013 Best Film Online Film Critics Society 16 December 2013 Best Documentary Film Robert Awards28 February 2013Best Documentary Feature and San Diego Film Critics Society 11 December 2013 Best Documentary San Francisco Film Critics Circle 13 December 2013 Best Documentary Satellite Awards 23 February 2014 Best Documentary Film Sheffield Doc/Fest 16 June 2013 Audience Award Special Jury Award St. Louis Film Critics Association 16 December 2013 Best Documentary Toronto Film Critics Association 16 December 2013 Best Documentary Traverse City Film Festival 4 August 2013 Stanley Kubrick Award for Bold and Innovative Filmmaking Vancouver Film Critics Circle 7 January 2014Best Documentary Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association 17 December 2013 Best Documentary Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 17 October 2013 Mayor's Prize ZagrebDox 3 March 2013 Movies That Matter Award
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