Document 11: The Act of Killing plus Q&A
Sat 19 October 2013
The Act of Killing
The only dedicated international human rights documentary festival in Scotland returns for its eleventh outing with a host of exciting screenings, panels, workshops, music and events. Taking place at CCA from Fri 18 to Sun 20 October, this year's programme focuses on reflection and tension between the past and present.
Thinking of joining us for several events? Get yourself a Document 11 Festival Pass for the whole weekend for £20 (£10 unwaged) by visiting Box Office or calling 0141 352 4900. You can also pick up a Day Pass for £10 (£5 unwaged) for a day of your choice (weekend/day pass holders must still book in advance for screenings/events to be guaranteed a place).
As always, all events are free for asylum seekers and refugees.
When the government of Indonesia was overthrown by the military in 1965, Anwar Congo and his friends were promoted from small-time gangsters who sold movie theatre tickets on the black market to death squad leaders. As the executioner for the most notorious death squad in his city, Anwar himself killed hundreds of people with his own hands. Today, he's revered as a founding father of a right-wing paramilitary organisation that grew out of the death squads. The organisation is so powerful that its leaders include government ministers, and they are happy to boast about everything from corruption and election rigging to acts of genocide.
The Act of Killing is about killers who have won, and the sort of society they have built. Unlike ageing Nazis or Rwandan genocidaires, Anwar and his friends have not been forced by history to admit they participated in crimes against humanity. Instead, they have written their own triumphant history, becoming role models for millions of young paramilitaries. The Act of Killing is a journey into the memories and imaginations of the perpetrators, offering insight into the minds of mass killers. It's a nightmarish vision of a frighteningly banal culture of impunity in which killers can joke about crimes against humanity on television chat shows, and celebrate moral disaster with the ease and grace of a soft shoe dance number.
Most dramatically, the filmmaking process catalyses an unexpected emotional journey for Anwar, from arrogance to regret as he confronts, for the first time in his life, the full terror of what he's done. As his fragile conscience is threatened by the pressure to remain a hero, The Act of Killing presents a gripping conflict between moral imagination and moral catastrophe.
A panel Q&A follows the film.
