Read interviews with Oscar Nominees

Consequences of War – Tobias Lindholm

"I have always liked American Vietnam War movies and see them as a way for the American society to collectively process a trauma. This film is my stab at processing Denmark’s presence in Iraq and Afghanistan – a process I don’t think has remotely begun. It’s high time that we address what we have sent our men off to in the name of democracy."

"I find real life insanely exciting. For me, it’s interesting to find a slice of reality that I can focus on, make myself a slave to and mix blood with. I don’t organise reality based on what my plot wants but let my plot be dictated by what reality has to offer."

Read full interview Consequences of War

The Look of Silence Photo: Lars Skree

Holding a Mirror to Horror – Joshua Oppenheimer

"I had this feeling we were entering totally uncharted waters. I can’t think of another film in which a survivor of political violence, or a relative of a victim, confronts a perpetrator while the perpetrators are still in power."

"They [the perpetrators] were presumably confused: this man [Adi] is speaking like a victim accusing us, but he’s with Joshua – and they knew me, and knew I’d been working with their commanders and other powerful perpetrators. So what is happening here? I think that gave them second thoughts, if they were considering reacting violently in the moment."
 

Read full interview Holding a Mirror to Horror

The Academy revealed the 2016 nominees on 14 January. Read our update Two Danish Film Oscar Nominated.

Oscar night is on 28 February in Los Angeles. See more at oscars.org

A War

Tobias Lindholm, 2015

Company commander Claus Michael Pedersen and his men are stationed in an Afghan province. Meanwhile, back in Denmark, Claus' wife Maria is trying to hold everyday life together with a husband at war and three children missing their father. During a routine mission, the soldiers are caught in heavy crossfire and in order to save his men, Claus makes a decision that has grave consequences for him - and his family back home.

The Look of Silence

Joshua Oppenheimer, 2014

Through Joshua Oppenheimer's footage of perpetrators of the 1965 Indonesian genocide, a family of survivors discovers how their son was murdered, as well as the identities of the killers. The documentary focuses on the youngest son, an optometrist named Adi, who decides to break the suffocating spell of submission and terror by doing something unimaginable in a society where the murderers remain in power: he confronts the men who killed his brother and, while testing their eyesight, asks them to accept responsibility for their actions. This unprecedented film initiates and bears witness to the collapse of fifty years of silence.

Tobias Lindholm

Director, screenwriter. Born 1977. Screenwriter graduate from the National Film School of Denmark, 2007.

Joshua Oppenheimer

Director. Born 1974, Texas, USA. Educated at Harvard and Central Saint Martins, London.