The Act of Killing

In this chilling and inventive documentary, produced by Errol Morris and Werner Herzog and previously screened at the ICA for 52 weeks, the unrepentant former members of Indonesian death squads are challenged to re-enact some of their many murders in the style of the American movies they love.

In the 1960s, Anwar Congo was a leader in Indonesia's pro-regime paramilitary the Pancasila Youth who, along with his band of dedicated followers, was amongst those who participated in the murder and torture of more than a million alleged Communists, ethnic Chinese and intellectuals.

Proud of their deeds and completely unpunished, Anwar and his pals are delighted when the film's director ask them to re-enact these murders for their documentary - in any genre they desire. Initially Anwar and his friends enthusiastically take up the challenge using hired actors, making elaborate sets and costumes and even using pyrotechnics, but eventually as the movie violence is played out and reconstructed, Anwar finally begins to feel unease and remorse.

Multi-buy Offer

Buy tickets to watch both The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence for £14.

The Act of Killing, dir. Joshua Oppenheimer, Norway/Denmark/UK 2012, 159 mins., cert. 15

The ICA Cinema is now completely ad-free. Please note the feature will start following a selection of trailers and information relevant to the ICA programme. This film is rated 15.