Happy 48th Birthday, Joshua Oppenheimer! Born today in 1974 as Joshua Lincoln Oppenheimer, this American-born British film director is based in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is a 2014 recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Award and a 1997 Marshall Scholar.
Born to a Jewish family in Austin, Texas, Oppenheimer grew up in and around Washington, D.C., and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
His paternal grandfather came from Frankfurt, Germany and his grandmother from Berlin. His grandfather had left Germany before Adolph Hitler came to power and was studying in the United States.
His grandfather later returned there and was able to rescue some family members, but most of the Oppenheimers were wiped out in the Holocaust.
Years later, Oppenheimer received a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude in filmmaking from Harvard University and a PhD from Central Saitn Martins College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London, while studying on a Marshall Scholarship in West Virginia.
This is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans [and] their country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. Oppenheimer is currently a Professor of Film at the University of Westminster.
From 2004 to 2012, Oppenheimer produced a series of films in Indonesia. His debut feature film was the first film of which he is best known for co-writing, co-producing and directing.
This was the 2012 British/Danish/Norwegian crime history/documentary film 'The Act of Killing' ('Jagal', Indonesian for 'Butcher').
The film was also co-directed by Indonesian film director Christine Cynn, while the other chose to remain anonymous.
The most notable executive producers of the film were Werner Herzog, Errol Morris and British filmmaker and anthropologist Andr Singer. One of the taglines for the film was said by Herzog: "Unprecedented in the history of cinema".
The film is about individuals who participated in the Indonesian mass killings during 1965–66.
The documentarians expose the horrifying mass executions of accused communists in Indonesia and those who are celebrated in their country for perpetrating the crime.
These are also the perpetrators who are celebrated in their country for committing the heinous crime. The genocide led to the killing of almost one million people, ostensibly for belonging to the local communist community.
Near the film's end, Indonesian former death squad leader Anwar Congo plays a victim in the final reenactment of the documentary. However, he says that he cannot continue.
Oppenheimer, from behind the camera, states that it was worse for the victims because they knew they were going to be killed, whereas Congo was only acting.
He then expresses doubts over whether or not he has sinned, tearfully saying that he does not want to think about it.
He then revisits the rooftop where he claims many of his killings took place, and retches repeatedly while describing how he had killed people during the genocide.
The name "Anonymous" appears forty-nine times under twenty-seven different crew positions in the credits. This was done to protect the identities of those crew members who feared retribution from the former Indonesian death squad leaders.
On a budget of $1 million, 'The Act of Killing' only earned back $722,714 at the box office. However, it later went on to win many prizes worldwide.
The following year, 'The Act of Killing' won a BAFTA Award for Best Documentary. This occurred at the 67th British Academy Film Awards in mid-February 2014.
In accepting the award, Oppenheimer asserted that the United States and the United Kingdom have "collective responsibility" for "participating in and ignoring" the crimes, which was omitted from the video BAFTA posted online.
One month later, 'The Act of Killing' was nominated an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. However, it didn't win. This occurred at the 86th Academy Awards in early March 2014.
After its theatrical release, 'The Look of Silence' aired on the American television as part of the PBS public television series POV (1988–present) on June 27 (S29E03)
After a screening of 'The Act of Killing' for U.S. Congress members, Oppenheimer demanded that the United States acknowledge its role in the killings.
The Indonesian government had responded negatively to the film. Its presidential spokesman on foreign affairs and then-Indonesian ambassador, Teuku Faizasyah, claimed that the film is misleading with respect to its portrayal of Indonesia.
Later that same year, Oppenheimer wrote and directed the second and final film of which he is best known. I was also a companion piece to 'The Act of Killing'.
This was the 2014 Danish/Indonesian/Finnish/Norwegian/British/Israeli/French/American/German/Dutch historical/documentary film 'The Look of Silence' ('Senyap', Indonesian for 'Silence'). Herzog, Morris and Singer returned to serve as executive producers.
The documentary focuses on Indonesian optometrist Adi Rukun, who decides to break the silence of submission by doing something unthinkable, in a society where the murderers and the genocidal remain in power.
One year later, 'The Act of Killing' was ranked 19th on a list of the best documentaries ever made in a 2015 poll by the British Film Institute (BFI).
The following year, 'The Look of Silence' was nominated an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. However, it didn't win. This occurred at the 88th Academy Awards in late February 2016.
Later that same year, 'The Act of Killing' was named the 14th greatest film released since 2000 by a poll of critics published by the BBC.
Since 2016, Oppenhimer has been a Member of the 'Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' (AMPAS).
Also in 2016, Oppenheimer was named as a member of the main competition jury for the 73rd Venice Film Festival.
In October 2017, the U.S. government declassified thousands of files related to the killings in Indonesia, with officials citing the impact of Oppenheimer's films.
According to his personal life, Oppenheimer is openly gay and currently resides in Copenhagen, Denmark with his partner Shu.
His mentor was Serbian film director and screenwriter Dušan Makavejev ('W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism').
Oppenheimer has been active from 1995–present.
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