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Interview with Academy Award nominee Joshua Oppenheimer
A still from "The Look of Silence", a documentary film directed by American director Joshua Oppenheimer
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A still from "The Look of Silence", a documentary film directed by American director Joshua Oppenheimer. The film, which follows Rukunâs family in North Sumatra, who lost their son Ramli during Indonesia's mass killing of communists in 1965 and 1966, is up for Best Documentary in the upcoming 2016 Academy Awards. (Photo courtesy of Drafthouse Films) (Photo courtesy of Drafthouse Films)
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span class="inline inline-center">A still from "The Look of Silence", a documentary film directed by American director Joshua Oppenheimer. The film, which follows Rukun's family in North Sumatra, who lost their son Ramli during Indonesia's mass killing of communists in 1965 and 1966, is up for Best Documentary in the upcoming 2016 Academy Awards. (Photo courtesy of Drafthouse Films)
American documentary film director Joshua Oppenheimer is set once again to focus global awareness on Indonesia's past human rights abuses as his critically acclaimed documentary "The Look of Silence' is up for the Best Documentary in the 2016 Academy Awards on Feb. 28. 'The Look of Silence' tells the story of a family in North Sumatra who confront the murderers of their son. The film is the second installment of Oppenheimer's documentary on the same theme; "The Act of Killing" was released in 2012 and also globally acknowledged.
Thejakartapost.com's Callistasia Anggun Wijaya, spoke to Oppenheimer by Skype over the weekend talking about his latest Oscar nomination for 'The Look of Silence' and the hopes he has for resolution of Indonesia's human rights cases.
Q: What expectations come with this nomination and with global acknowledgment of your work?
A: I hope this nomination can draw attention to the issues that this film is raising. We're using the nomination to lobby American lawmakers, to demand documents that would reveal America's role in the 1965 killings [of communists in Indonesia].
We're using the attention that comes with a nomination as a kind of opportunity to deepen the impact of the film, to encourage and strengthen the struggle for truth, justice and reconciliation in Indonesia and at the same time to demand acknowledgment from the US.
Q : Have you ever thought of coming back to Indonesia to make another movie about these issues?
A: Honestly, it is difficult for me because I cannot return to Indonesia safely. So how am I supposed to make another movie in Indonesia when I cannot safely return to Indonesia?
I hear about thousands of screenings around the country and it has been a very sad thing to me that I cannot personally be there, be a witness of that transformation, even in a single screening of the film in Indonesia.
Given the situation for the time being I won't be returning to Indonesia any time soon and I won't make any movie there. But maybe one day I'll return, if there is a chance I can safely return to Indonesia I might be interesting in making another film.
Q: Did you ever receive threats from the government?
A: Not so much from the government but I mean I received pretty regular threats in some social media and some emails and some telephone [conversations]. I don't know exactly where they were from. Actually, I don't know who threatened me.
Q: What is the content of the threats?
A: The threats usually prohibit me from coming to Indonesia. There was one threat which said 'don't come back to Indonesia, unless you want us to use your head as a football.'
I think that I heard story about a person who looked like me who returned to Indonesia. He has been harassed in Indonesia. He contacted me afterward, that he had been arrested and detained just because he looked like me. It was a year ago.
Q: Who is your look-alike?
A : He's not an Indonesian and he has left, he got out of the situation but he was detained for some days. I cannot comment, I promised him not to tell the story.
Q: How do you see the efforts toward human rights settlement in Indonesia?
A : I think for most Indonesians and these films, of course they want to be able to talk about the past and the government to acknowledge the truth and set up a truth commission, and they want the government to stop teaching the history lesson of the New Order because people don't want to send their children to school to be lied to and brainwashed.
Millions of Indonesians who live with secrets in their family who have a sense of that kind of secret that their parents never told them, want to be told about what happened so they can know where they come from.
Q : What do you think of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's lack of significant efforts on past human rights violations? Jokowi has made no real effort to settle past human right issues.
A: We have to keep urging and constructing a strong political basis so Jokowi can have political capital to finally admit that what happened was a mistake and make an apology to the victims.
We need to build for Jokowi to bring change. We need to build a movement for change to constitute the political capital so Jokowi can do the thing I believe in his heart he would like to do.
Q: How's Rukun's family now?
A: They're really well. I cannot talk so much about them, especially about where they are but they're actually well in a safer place.
The sad thing is Adi's father died when we were editing the film. Adi's mother has some health problems although she is 100 years old or more.
Q: Did Adi ever receive threats like you?
A: No he hasn't. That is something I'm so glad about.
In a movie screening on 10 November 2014, people gave a standing ovation to Adi for he was deemed as a person who has done something heroic. Such a reaction has been consistent since the first screening of the movie. (rin)(+)
