This horrifically gripping Oscar-nominated documentary examines the legacy of the anti-communist atrocities in the wake of a failed coup in mid-1960s Indonesia. It interviews members of the death squads, who were never prosecuted for their crimes, and gets them to stage bizarre re-enactments of their crimes interspersed with movie footage. While not an easy watch – even Werner Herzog called it the most surreal and frightening film he had seen in a decade – this highly original documentary – one of the most awarded and lauded films of recent times – is a ‘must-see’ for film fans and anyone interested in understanding the darker side of history and human nature.

Director Joshua Oppenheimer is an American director based in Denmark. This is his first feature-length film. His follow-up, The Look of Silence, has also been widely praised on the festival circuit and is released in cinemas in late 2014.

“It’s often said of documentaries that they deserve to have as wide an audience as possible. This doesn’t deserve; it demands – not for what it says about present-day Indonesia or even about its former horrors. But because almost every frame is astonishing.” Catherine Shoard, The Guardian

“Fact and fiction meeting head on with quietly earth-shattering results. … I was left dumbfounded.” Mark Kermode, The Observer