"40 Years of Silence: an Indonesian Tragedy"

FILM SCREENING and Discussion:

with Filmmaker/Director, Robert Lemelson

SYNOPSIS:

40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy explores the long-term multi-generational effects of the mass-killings in Indonesia in 1965 and 1966, where approximately half a million to a million suspected communists were killed in six months. The documentary weaves together archival footage, photos, interviews with historians and anthropologists, and the testimonies of victims and perpetrators of the 1965 mass-killings to reveal a complex story of politics, death, suffering, and coping.

Shot over the course of 10 years, with over 400 hours of footage, 40 Years of Silence follows four families, all of whom had family members killed or "disappeared" by soldiers and neighbors in the mass-killings in Bali and Java. The survivors and their children break the silence as they reveal how they are still subjected to and cope with the continual harassment, surveillance, and discrimination by the State and their community members.

Even today, few people are aware of the killings since it was hidden from the world's view with enforced silence for 35 years by the Suharto regime. With both historical and personal accounts, 40 Years of Silence provides a glimpse into a part of world history which needs to be remembered, discussed, and not forgotten.

Robert Lemelson is a research anthropologist at the Semel Institute of Neuroscience, UCLA, and a filmmaker whose work focuses on Southeast Asian studies and the relationship of culture, psychology, and mental illness. He received his M.A. from the University of Chicago, and his doctorate from UCLA in Anthropology. Lemelson has been filming on the islands of Bali and Java in Indonesia since 1997, exploring the relation to culture to such disorders as Schizophrenia, OCD, Tourette's syndrome, and PTSD. 40 Years of Silence is his first feature length documentary and he is working on two more based in Indonesia. In the planning stages are three separate documentaries on psychosis outcome, gender-based violence, and trance and possession.

For trailer and additional information, see www.40yearsofsilence.com