I think it's a great pity in the Anglophone world that we conflate cinema verite and Direct Cinema; they're, in fact, ontological opposites. In Direct Cinema, we create a fictional reality with characters and pretend we're not that. Joshua Oppenheimer anglophonecharactercinema share on social
In documentary filmmaking, there's a tradition of telling stories about victims. We often do that from a very patronizing place, but mostly we do it from a very selfish place, to reassure ourselves that our lives are in sympathy and solidarity with the victims. Joshua Oppenheimer documentaryfilmmakelive share on social
I wanted to resist in 'The Look of Silence' making a film that ends with any kind of positive hope I feel in human rights documentaries dealing with human survivors. Joshua Oppenheimer dealdocumentaryend Change image and share on social
I think that indignation is pleasurable, and it's pleasurable because it's self-righteous. Joshua Oppenheimer indignationpleasurablerighteous Change image and share on social
People may assume 'The Act of Killing' is a historical documentary about what happened in 1965. But our purpose was to expose a present-day regime of fear for what it is. Joshua Oppenheimer actassumeday Change image and share on social
I think that our task as filmmakers is to create the most insightful reality given the most pressing questions. Joshua Oppenheimer createfilmmakerinsightful Change image and share on social
You finish a film not in the editing, but in the conversations that audiences have with themselves - and in that sense, every viewer is making a slightly different film. And that's wonderful. Joshua Oppenheimer audienceconversationedit Change image and share on social
All we can do is find the courage to stand still and to look backwards. Joshua Oppenheimer backwardscouragefind Change image and share on social
I first went to Indonesia in 2001 for six months. I was to help a community of plantation workers to make a film documenting and dramatizing the struggle to organize a union in the aftermath of the Suharto dictatorship. Joshua Oppenheimer aftermathcommunitydictatorship share on social
Once you recognize that all documentaries are performance, it's not a matter of 'if' they should be performance. They are performance, and they are performance precisely where people are playing themselves. Joshua Oppenheimer documentarymatterpeople share on social
