Like all art, nonfiction film should invite, seduce, or force us to confront the most difficult, frightening or mysterious aspects of what it means to be human. Joshua Oppenheimer artaspectconfront Change image and share on social
At our production company, the trademark dish - and this sounds particularly revolting - is curried pickled herring. Joshua Oppenheimer companycurrydish Change image and share on social
From 2005 to 2010, I was exclusively shooting 'The Act of Killing' and then editing it. Joshua Oppenheimer acteditexclusively Change image and share on social
I think Direct Cinema's trying to be insightful by looking at reality in a very close way while, in fact, much more is staged than we like to think. In cinema verite, it's about trying to make something invisible visible - the role of fantasy and imagination in everyday life. Joshua Oppenheimer cinemaclosedirect 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
My father's family was mostly obliterated in the Holocaust, and I grew up very much with the sense that the central moral and political question is how do we prevent these things from happening again. Joshua Oppenheimer centralfamilyfather Change image and share on social
My background is in filmmaking, and my mentor is Dusan Makavejev, who combined fiction and documentary. Joshua Oppenheimer backgroundcombinedocumentary Change image and share on social
I think we are fascinated and scared by evil at the same time. I think it's important not to suppress our fascination but to walk into it with open eyes. Joshua Oppenheimer evileyefascinate 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
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
