Drafthouse Films has acquired US rights to the Danish documentary "The Act of Killing" that shook audiences at this year’s Toronto and Telluride International Film Festival. Drafthouse plans a 30-market theatrical release and awards campaign for Best Documentary Feature in 2013.
"The Act of Killing" is a landmark acquisition for us. No other film at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival made a comparable residual impression. It is an honor to work with Joshua Oppenheimer and his team to introduce such an important, groundbreaking film to audiences around the country,” says Drafthouse Films CEO Tim League.
The film's producer Signe Byrge Sørensen from Final Cut for Real is equally thrilled about the collaboration:
"Throughout the production of 'The Act of Killing' it has been our ambition that this film should reach a theatrical audience, and it couldn’t possibly be in better or more caring hands 'The Act of Killing' is a film that inspires powerful reactions in many viewers, but among the most powerful have come from the team at Drafthouse. I am therefore extremely happy to have such passion fuelling the film’s U.S. release. And because 'The Act of Killing' is an indictment of impunity everywhere, not least in the United States, our American theatrical release is particularly meaningful."
Directed by Texas born Joshua Oppenheimer, "The Act of Killing" ventures deep into the minds of former Indonesian death squad leaders who are challenged to reenact their real-life mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers. The hallucinatory result is a cinematic fever dream, an unsettling journey deep into the imaginations of mass-murderers and the shockingly banal regime of corruption and impunity they inhabit.
"The Act of Killing" is directed by Joshua Oppenheimer and co-directed by Christine Cynn and Anonymous. The film is produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen from Final Cut for Real with support from the Danish Film Institute. International sales are handled by Cinephil.
The film is currently playing at the Danish documentary festival CPH:DOX.
Drafthouse Films has previously distributed the Danish films "The Ambassador" and "Klown".