# List of accolades received by The Act of Killing

The Act of Killing (Indonesian: Jagal) 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

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Result |
| Academy Award | 2 March 2014 | Best Documentary Feature | Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen | Nominated |
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists | 8 December 2013 | Best Documentary | Joshua Oppenheimer | Nominated |
| Asia Pacific Screen Awards | 12 December 2013 | Best Documentary Feature Film | The Act of Killing | Won |
| Austin Film Critics Association | 17 December 2013 | Best Documentary | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| Australian Film Critics Association Film & Writing Awards | 1 March 2014 | Best Documentary | The Act of Killing | Nominated |
| Bergen International Film Festival | 30 October 2013 | Checkpoints Prize | The Act of Killing | Won |
| Berlin International Film Festival | 16 February 2013 | Panorama Audience Award | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| Berlin International Film Festival | 16 February 2013 | Panorama Ecumenical Jury Prize | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| Bodil Awards | 16 March 2013 | Bodil Special Award | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | 8 December 2013 | Best Documentary | The Act of Killing | Won |
| BRITDOC Foundation | 14 November 2013 | PUMA Impact Award | The Act of Killing | Won |
| British Academy Film Awards | 16 February 2014 | Best Documentary | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| British Academy Film Awards | 16 February 2014 | Best Film Not in the English Language | Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen | Nominated |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | 17 December 2013 | Best Documentary | The Act of Killing | Won |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | 17 December 2013 | Best Foreign-Language Film | The Act of Killing | Won |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | 17 December 2013 | Most Promising Filmmaker | Joshua Oppenheimer | Nominated |
| Cinema Eye Honors | 8 January 2014 | Audience Choice | Joshua Oppenheimer | Nominated |
| Cinema Eye Honors | 8 January 2014 | Outstanding Achievement in Direction | Joshua Oppenheimer | Nominated |
| Cinema Eye Honors | 8 January 2014 | Outstanding Achievement in Editing | Janus Billeskov Jansen and Niels Pagh Andersen | Nominated |
| Cinema Eye Honors | 8 January 2014 | Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking | Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen | Won |
| Cinema Eye Honors | 8 January 2014 | Outstanding Achievement in Production | Signe Byrge Sørensen | Won |
| Cinema Eye Honors | 8 January 2014 | Unforgettables | Anwar Congo | Won |
| CPH:DOX | 12 November 2012 | CPH:DOX Award | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| Critics' Choice Movie Award | 16 January 2014 | Best Documentary Feature | The Act of Killing | Nominated |
| Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards | 16 December 2013 | Best Documentary | The Act of Killing | 2nd place |
| Detroit Film Critics Society | 16 December 2013 | Best Documentary Film | The Act of Killing | Nominated |
| Directors Guild of America Award | 25 January 2014 | Outstanding Directing – Documentaries | Joshua Oppenheimer | Nominated |
| Dorian Awards | 21 January 2014 | Documentary of the Year | The Act of Killing | Nominated |
| Dublin Film Critics Circle | 18 December 2013 | Best Director | Joshua Oppenheimer | Nominated |
| Dublin Film Critics Circle | 18 December 2013 | Best Documentary | The Act of Killing | Won |
| Dublin Film Critics Circle | 18 December 2013 | Best Film | The Act of Killing | Nominated |
| Dublin Film Critics Circle | 18 December 2013 | Breakthrough of the Year | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| European Film Awards | 7 December 2013 | Best Documentary | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| Florida Film Critics Circle | 18 December 2013 | Best Documentary | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| Golden Trailer Awards | 30 May 2014 | Best Foreign Documentary Trailer | The Act of Killing | Nominated |
| Gotham Awards | 2 December 2013 | Best Documentary | The Act of Killing | Won |
| Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival | 23 February 2014 | Best Picture | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| Hong Kong International Film Festival | 2 April 2013 | Documentary Competition awards | The Act of Killing | Nominated |
| Houston Film Critics Society | 8 December 2013 | Best Documentary | The Act of Killing | Nominated |
| Independent Spirit Awards | 1 March 2014 | Best Documentary Feature | Joshua Oppenheimer, Joram Ten Brink, Christine Cynn, Anne Köhncke, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Michael Uwemedimo, and Anonymous | Nominated |
| International Documentary Association Award | 7 December 2013 | Best Feature | Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Errol Morris, Werner Herzog, Torstein Grude, André Singer, Joram ten Brink, and Bjarte Mørner Tveit | Nominated |
| International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights | 10 March 2013 | Gilda Vieira de Mello Prize | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| London Film Critics' Circle | 2 February 2014 | Documentary of the Year | The Act of Killing | Won |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association | 8 December 2013 | Best Documentary Film | Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous, and Christine Cynn | Runner-up |
| Message to Man | 28 September 2013 | Press Jury Prize | The Act of Killing | Won |
| National Board of Review Awards | 8 January 2014 | Top Five Documentaries | The Act of Killing | Won |
| National Society of Film Critics | 4 January 2014 | Best Non-Fiction Film | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| New York Film Critics Online | 8 December 2013 | Best Documentary | The Act of Killing | Won |
| Nordisk Panorama | 25 September 2013 | Best Nordic Documentary | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| One World Film Festival | 11 March 2013 | Best Film | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| Online Film Critics Society | 16 December 2013 | Best Documentary Film | The Act of Killing | Won |
| Robert Awards | 28 February 2013 | Best Documentary Feature | Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen | Won |
| San Diego Film Critics Society | 11 December 2013 | Best Documentary | The Act of Killing | Won |
| San Francisco Film Critics Circle | 13 December 2013 | Best Documentary | The Act of Killing | Won |
| Satellite Awards | 23 February 2014 | Best Documentary Film | The Act of Killing | Nominated |
| Sheffield Doc/Fest | 16 June 2013 | Audience Award | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| Sheffield Doc/Fest | 16 June 2013 | Special Jury Award | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| St. Louis Film Critics Association | 16 December 2013 | Best Documentary | The Act of Killing | Runner-up |
| Toronto Film Critics Association | 16 December 2013 | Best Documentary | The Act of Killing | Won |
| Traverse City Film Festival | 4 August 2013 | Stanley Kubrick Award for Bold and Innovative Filmmaking | The Act of Killing | Won |
| Vancouver Film Critics Circle | 7 January 2014 | Best Documentary | The Act of Killing | Won |
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | 17 December 2013 | Best Documentary | The Act of Killing | Nominated |
| Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival | 17 October 2013 | Mayor's Prize | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |
| ZagrebDox | 3 March 2013 | Movies That Matter Award | Joshua Oppenheimer | Won |