“If we don't accept the uncomfortable proposition that every perpetrator of virtually every act of evil in our history has been a human being like us, then we actually foreclose the possibility of understanding how we do this to one another and therefore make it impossible to figure out how we might prevent these things.”

American and British film director, based in Copenhagen

Joshua Oppenheimer is an American and British film director based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Born Joshua Lincoln Oppenheimer, he is known for documentary films that brought him wide attention, including The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence, and for his 2024 narrative debut, The End. His films have earned major recognition, including Oscar nominations for The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence. He was a Marshall Scholar in 1997 and received a MacArthur fellowship in 2014.