Following up on his acclaimed first documentary on the Indonesian genocide of 1965, filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer has released a companion feature, "The Look of Silence," which is competing for Best Documentary at today's Academy Awards ceremony. With the film winning the Spirit Award for Best Documentary yesterday, this could be a bellwether ahead of the Oscars.
Oppenheimer's first piece, "The Act of Killing," also Oscar-nominated, was screened before some members of Congress and helped Oppenheimer win a prestigious MacArthur "genius" award.
In fall 1965, six army generals were killed in an attempted coup of the Indonesian government. As a result, some 500,000 to 1 million people were massacred over five months in an anti-communist purge of the alleged perpetrators.
"The Look of Silence" follows its main character, Adi, an optometrist, as he helps and confronts the men who allegedly killed his brother some 50 years ago.
Here, the director talks about two pivotal scenes in the film.
Produced and edited by Josh Wolff. Cinematography by David Fang.
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