[7] According to Oppenheimer, it is "about a regime in which genocide has, paradoxically, been effaced and celebrated – in order to keep the survivors terrified, the public brainwashed, and the perpetrators able to live with themselves.

Included in many of the awards was the anonymous Indonesian co-director, who was unable to share in the recognition because of the danger posed by his or her participation.

[15] The Act of Killing was screened only in underground venues in Indonesia, but its success led to media coverage there, generating controversy and opening a conversation about the past.

[16][17] In Oppenheimer's BAFTAs acceptance speech, he reported that the subject is receiving more attention, and that the film "is helping to catalyse a change in how Indonesia talks about its past".

[15] When it was nominated for an Academy Award, the Indonesian government responded with a full-page statement about the killings and the film in the Jakarta Globe.