It was beaten in four categories, for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Leading Actor, and Best Musical Direction, by Sjumandjaja's "Budak Nafsu" ("Slave to Passion"), while Slamet Rahardjo's "Ponirah Terpidana" ("Ponirah Convicted") took Best Artistic Direction. At the 1985 FFI "Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI" received an Antemas Award as the best-selling film of the preceding calendar year. The film scholar Thomas Barker suggests that the film's awards were, in part, a conjunction of state and FFI interests: both were focused on promoting a united national culture.