“Making and Breaking the Act of Killing”, a masterclass in the context of the Docs in Thessaloniki - Pitching Forum 2013 of the 15th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, took place on March 21, 2013 at Cine John Cassavetes. The masterclass, which was co-organized with the European Documentary Network (EDN), was presented by producer Signe Byrge Sorensen and sales agent Philippa Kowarsky.
Sorensen and Kowarsky shared their experiences from working on the documentary The Act of Killing by Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn and an anonymous co-director. The film is included in the program of the TDF 15th edition. The film had already been the “talk of the town” for some months within the international documentary industry and was awarded twice at the Berlinale this year. Masterclass participants had the opportunity to meet the producer and sales agent behind the film and hear about how they have worked with making and launching the film.
The film’s protagonists are former death squad leaders who had been active in Indonesia in the mid-60s, when the country’s government was overturned by a military coup. They reenact their real-life mass killings in cinematic form.
The film’s producer and sales agent explained, step-by-step, their work during the various stages of producing, promoting and distributing the film to the international market. “We had explosive material, but the difficult subject meant that a lot of work was needed to reach a wider audience”, explained EDN representative Ove Rishoj Jensen.
Sorensen is chief executive and producer with Final Cut for Real, a company based in Copenhagen. She explained that she became interested in the film five years ago. “The first time I heard about this documentary was at a Festival workshop. I contacted director Joshua Oppenheimer, who was in Indonesia at the time, and asked him if he needed a producer. He was surprised, and sent me his dissertation, which was related to his film work. I read it and called him up again. I believe that my persistence –he told me that I was the second person to actually read his dissertation- convinced him to work with me. We started talking about the material he had gathered and how to promote the film. Reaching a wider audience was the great challenge ahead”.
The film is a British-Norwegian co-production, and received financing from various broadcasters (including ZDF and ARTE), as well as the Danish and Norwegian film institutes. “Co-productions have many complexities, but there is no other way to get the funds necessary to make such ambitious projects and reach a wide audience”, Sorensen explained, adding: “this was a difficult and unconventional process, which went on for years”. Filmmakers and producers were also inventive in the promotion of the film. “Just before post-production was completed, we started sending letters to sales agents. To be honest, we did not hear back from many of them. We were looking for someone who would understand and feel passionate about our project, who would not care only about TV distribution, but would be able to secure a place for the film in the Festival circuit and cinemas. We were fortunate to find the right person for the job”.
She was referring to Philippa Kowarsky, who spoke next. “This was not the easiest documentary I had worked for, but ‘easy’ does not interest me anyway. I was touched when Signe came to me at a pitching forum and told me: ‘this film should be part of your catalogue’. I watched the DVD during a flight, and I just couldn't wait for the airplane to land to get into action. I contacted Signe and we immediately started planning our promotional strategy”.
The documentary’s fame spread rapidly after it was screened at the Telluride and Toronto Festivals. “Telluride is a relatively small festival, which goes on for no more than three or four days. It takes place in a mountainous area close to Denver, and features less than 20 films. Still, if your film is one of those few, you can be sure everybody will see it. So when our film was screened at a big festival like Toronto, it had already been getting a lot of buzz”. Kowarsky remembered how everybody was saying that “this is a must-see film”, adding: “Competition was tough in Toronto; the line-up included big productions from Hollywood like Argo, with posters advertising on all city buses”. Nevertheless, the documentary managed to create a stir, and secured admission to many other important festivals, like the Berlinale, where it had its European premiere. After the Berlinale, invitations were pouring in from everywhere”, said Sorensen, adding, however, that “in Berlin, we felt outside our comfort zone, surrounded as we were by big productions and big names”.
Sorensen also noted that promoting a documentary like The Act of Killing is much more demanding than building your average promotional package. “A three-minute pitch is not enough. We had to elaborate on the story behind the film”. Kowarsky added: “Since both Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Sorensen have an academic background, they are able to produce really good promotional material, and we took advantage of their skills in pitching the production. A good writer is very important to have to secure media impact, which is crucial for the fate of a film”.
Asked about the difficulties they faced during filming, Sorensen said: “Oddly, we had no problem making Anwar Congo and his friends -all of them death squad members- talk. They were willing, even proud, to narrate their stories. No official permission was needed; indeed the police was very willing to help us. The hard part was talking to the families of victims”. In Indonesia, the film was presented in special screenings. As Sorensen noted, “we were very careful and chose only institutions we could trust. Audience reaction in Indonesia was unexpected. Anwar, who reenacts his hideous acts in the film, was moved during the screening. He is a torn man, who is now haunted by guilt. I wouldn't say he is ready to work for a humanitarian organization, but he is changing”.
