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An emotionally charged look at three polygamous families in Bali
In one of the largest unknown mass-killings of the 20th century, an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 Indonesians were killed in 1965 when General Suharto began a purge of suspected “communists” through a complex and highly contested series of events–ultimately leading him to the presidency. 40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy follows the compelling testimonies of four individuals and their families, as they break the silence with an intimate look at what it was like for survivors during Suharto’s New Order regime.
Practiced in Java for centuries, Jathilan is a folk dance that uses the power of music and dance to channel powerful and sometimes terrifying forces. Led by a spiritual guide and a whip-bearing ringleader, a group of dancers ride woven horses in rhythmic unison until they are entered by spirits. Once possessed they engage in a range of self-mortification behaviors until safely emerging from their altered state, left with no memory of the event and no lingering ill effects. The film combines footage of a number of Jathilan performances with interviews with dancers, spiritual leaders, anthropologists, and enthusiasts.
Shot in the arid landscape of West Bali, Indonesia, Tajen, Balinese for cockfight, follows multiple narrative threads of this ancient spectacle– that of the blade, the rooster, the cockfighter. It is the moment when these elements come together during the bloody match that the real drama begins. With a richly sensory approach that embeds the viewer within the action of the arena, Tajen is a poetic visual evocation of the intimacy, brutality, and festivity of the fight. While neither approving nor decrying this tradition, the film immerses the viewer into the visual and auditory domains of steel, feathers, blood and the money that defines Tajen.
