Joshua Oppenheimer's 2013 documentary "The Act of Killing" detailed the Indonesian genocide of the 1960s, which has been estimated to have claimed the lives of about half a million people. Now Oppenheimer is back with a follow-up film called "The Look Of Silence," which is enabling Indonesians to finally address horrors their country has yet to recover from.
"'The Look Of Silence' has, I'm humbled to say, helped catalyze a fundamental transformation in how Indonesians are responding to the genocide and its present day terrible legacy of corruption, fear and violence," Oppenheimer told HuffPost Live's Nancy Redd on Thursday. "It's helped energize a movement for truth and reconciliation and some form of justice."
Truth and reconciliation legislation would help bring closure to many Indonesians. But the documentary takes a different approach to exposing the genocide.
"The Look Of Silence" follows one family of survivors' tragic discovery of how their son was murdered in 1965 and who his killers were. The film documents the family's youngest son, Adi, as he confronts his brother's killers. Oppenheimer explained the effect the documentary is having in the country at its center.
"Indonesians through the film are acknowledging how torn the social fabric of the country is, and how urgently truth and reconciliation are needed," Oppenheimer said. "And the government, in response to this debate the film has raised, has now introduced a truth and reconciliation bill. Woefully inadequate, but a tremendous start in a way."
Watch Oppenheimer discuss his moving documentary in the video above, and click here to watch his full HuffPost Live conversation.
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