THE ACT OF KILLING Documentary Film Screening

Tuesday 17. March at 20:30 - 22:27

FOMO Secret Cinema, Tbilisi

Joshua Oppenheimer | 2013 | UK/Indonesia | 1h57m | Indonesian language with English subtitles

Joshua Oppenheimer’s groundbreaking documentary confronts one of the darkest chapters of twentieth-century history by inviting former Indonesian death squad leaders to reenact their crimes in the cinematic styles they admire. What unfolds is a deeply unsettling fusion of documentary and performance, where perpetrators construct their own mythologies while inadvertently revealing the psychological cost of violence.

The film challenges conventional documentary ethics by foregrounding the act of storytelling itself, turning reenactment into a method of historical excavation. Its influence can be seen in later hybrid documentaries that interrogate memory, truth and spectacle, including THE LOOK OF SILENCE and other contemporary works that blur the boundary between fiction and testimony.

Made outside traditional institutional frameworks and developed over several years through clandestine collaboration, THE ACT OF KILLING embodies independence not only in financing but in moral ambition. It demonstrates how cinema can function as both historical reckoning and formal experiment.

Guests interested in politically engaged filmmaking or in the evolving language of documentary will find this screening particularly essential. The film’s lasting impact lies in its refusal to offer easy closure, instead leaving audiences to confront the uneasy coexistence of horror and performance.

THE ACT OF KILLING is presented as a FOMO Film Club member guest selection. Each week FOMO plays one to three films suggested by members of our Film Club. If you would like to learn more about becoming a member, ask David when you arrive.

Location: FOMO Secret Cinema, Bazari Orbeliani, Tbilisi. A five minute walk from Liberty Square metro.

How to find FOMO: Enter the Bazari via Atoneli St above Carrefour and take the stairs on your left as soon as you enter next to the karaoke booth. FOMO is one flight up. Video instructions here: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17933106294029235

T&Cs: Gests must enter the Bazari by 23:00 to gain access to the FOMO Cinema Lounge Bar. If the Atoneli St entrance is locked you can get in via the side entrance on Sulkhanishvil St between 21:00 and 23:00. We close at 02:00 each evening. No refunds are issued unless we cancel the screening ourselves.

FOMO Secret Cinema • Bazari Orbeliani, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia

Google Map of Bazari Orbeliani, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia

FOMO Cinema

+995591100216

fomocinematbilisi@gmail.com

View all events