The Act of Killing
“A story of killers who win and the society they build.”
After befriending documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer, former Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of various American film genres. As they recreate their past atrocities, the line between reality and performance blurs, exposing the lingering impact of Indonesia's 1965-66 anti-communist purge and the unsettling psychology of its perpetrators.
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Cast
14 people
Joshua Oppenheimer Director · Lars Skree Cinematographer Carlos Arango De Montis Cinematographer
Worldwide gross $723K · Budget $1M · United States release July 19, 2013
Box office
Budget
$1,000,000
Worldwide gross
$722,714
Gross vs. budget
0.7×
Production
Final Cut for Real
Production
Piraya Film
Production
Novaya Zemlya
Production
Spring Films
Production
Piraya Film A/S
Production
Denmark · Norway · United Kingdom
Produced in
Languages
Original language
Danish
Spoken on screen
English · Indonesian
Release dates
United States · August 31, 2012
Premiere · Telluride Film Festival
Denmark · November 7, 2012
Theatrical
United States · July 19, 2013
Theatrical
United States · January 7, 2014
Digital
United States
March 2, 2013 · Premiere · True/False Film Festival
March 22, 2013 · Premiere · New Directors/New Films Festival
April 27, 2013 · Premiere · San Francisco International Film Festival
May 5, 2013 · Premiere · Montclair Film Festival
May 18, 2013 · Premiere · Seattle International Film Festival
June 14, 2013 · Premiere · Los Angeles Film Festival
June 18, 2013 · Premiere · Human Rights Watch Film Festival
August 2, 2013 · Premiere · Traverse City Film Festival
November 15, 2013 · Premiere · DOC NYC
Australia
June 6, 2013 · Premiere · Sydney Film Festival
July 28, 2013 · Premiere · Melbourne International Film Festival
September 5, 2013 · Theatrical
October 12, 2013 · Premiere · Adelaide Film Festival
Austria
November 3, 2013 · Premiere · VIENNALE Film Festival
Canada
September 8, 2012 · Premiere · Toronto International Film Festival
Czechia
March 6, 2013 · Premiere · One World Film Festival
November 4, 2013 · Premiere · Prague Film Festival
Denmark
October 30, 2012 · Premiere · Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival
Finland
September 21, 2013 · Premiere · Helsinki International Film Festival
France
October 4, 2013 · Theatrical
Germany
September 14, 2013 · Premiere · Oldenburg Film Festival
October 2, 2013 · Premiere · Cologne Conference - International Film and TV Festival
February 20, 2014 · Theatrical
Greece
March 19, 2013 · Premiere · Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
May 12, 2017 · Theatrical
Hong Kong SAR China
October 23, 2014 · Limited theatrical
Hungary
January 26, 2018 · Premiere · Budapest International Documentary Festival
Indonesia
November 1, 2012 · Limited theatrical
December 17, 2013 · Digital · YouTube
Ireland
January 17, 2014 · Theatrical
Italy
June 8, 2013 · Premiere · Biografilm Festival
October 17, 2013 · Theatrical
Japan
October 12, 2013 · Premiere · Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
April 12, 2014 · Theatrical
December 4, 2015 · Premiere · Gifu Asia Film Festival
Laos
December 6, 2015 · Premiere · Luang Prabang Film Festival
Luxembourg
February 28, 2013 · Premiere · Luxembourg City Film Festival
Netherlands
November 17, 2012 · Premiere · International Documentary Festival Amsterdam
October 10, 2013 · Theatrical
December 19, 2013 · TV · Nederland 2
New Zealand
September 12, 2013 · Theatrical
Norway
September 6, 2013 · Theatrical
March 7, 2014 · TV
Philippines
December 18, 2013 · Premiere · Cinemanila International Film Festival
Poland
May 11, 2013 · Premiere · Planete+ Doc Film Festival
February 28, 2014 · Theatrical
Portugal
November 4, 2013 · Theatrical
South Korea
November 20, 2014 · Theatrical
September 28, 2022 · Premiere · DMZ International Documentary Film Festival
Spain
August 30, 2013 · Theatrical
Sweden
January 26, 2013 · Premiere · Göteborg International Film Festival
March 6, 2013 · Premiere · Tempo Documentary Festival
September 22, 2013 · Premiere · Nordisk Panorama Film Festival
Taiwan
April 26, 2013 · Premiere · Urban Nomad Film Festival
United Kingdom
June 16, 2013 · Premiere · Sheffield Documentary Film Festival
June 28, 2013 · Theatrical
September 12, 2013 · Premiere · EDINDOCS Film Festival
November 25, 2013 · Digital
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Some details come from TheTVDB.