DER Documentary

40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy

by Robert Lemelson
color, 86 min (56 min version also available), 2009

Non-profit and K-12 pricing also available
See pricing information and conditions

40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy tells the story of one of the largest unknown mass-killings of the 20th century. In 1965-66, an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 people were secretly killed when General Suharto began a bloody purge of suspected communists throughout Indonesia. For decades, the Indonesian government repressed all memory of this event, and the world looked away.

Based on the research of prominent anthropologist Robert Lemelson and edited by two-time Academy Award winner Pietro Scalia, this film follows the compelling testimonies of four individuals and their families from Central Java and Bali, as they break their silence for the first time. Told in understated detail, the cumulative effect of their stories is heartbreaking, profound and ultimately redemptive.

Visit the film's official website: www.40yearsofsilence.com

Film Festivals, Screenings, Awards
Winner, Award of Excellencez, Canada International Film Awards, 2013
Winner, Best Foreign Feature, Oregon Film Awards, 2012
Winner, Award of Excellence, International Film Festival for Peace, Inspiration & Equality, Indonesia, 2012
Nominee, Most Innovative Production,History Makers Awards, 2011
Winner, Award of Merit, 2009 Accolades Competition, 2009
Winner, Award of Excellence, 2009 Indie Fest, 2009
International Film Festival For Peace, Inspiration, Equality, Indonesia, 2012
Kingston NY Film Festival, USA, 2012
3rd World Congress of Cultural Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom, 2012
Sanur Film Nights, Bali, Indonesia, 2011
XIX International Festival of Ethnological Film, Belgrade, Serbia, 2010
Taiwan International Documentary Festival, 2010
Psychocinema Festival, Jakarta, Indonesia, 2010
Globians world+culture Documentary Film Festival, Berlin, Germany, 2009
Amnesty International Films That Matter, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2009
Boston International Film Festival, Boston, MA, 2009
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CSUS History Department Screening, Sacramento, CA, 2009
Lembaga Perancis/Yogyakarta French Cultural Center, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2011
UC Berkley Medical Anthropology Colloquium, Berkeley, CA, 2011
UCLA James Bridges Theatre, Human Rights Conference, Indonesia, 2011
Rutgers University Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights, Conference, Newark, NJ, 2009
University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 2009
Northern Illinois Summer Institute, DeKalb, IL, 2009
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore, SG, 2009
International Association for Genocide Scholars (IAGS) 2009 Annual Conference, Arlington, VA, 2009
Indonesian Community & Friends screening, Los Angeles, CA, 2009
Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, 2009
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 2009
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 2009
Yale University, Council of Southeast Asia Studies, New Haven, CT, 2009
UCSD, Psychological Anthropology Program and Culture & Psychiatry Interest Group, San Diego, CA, 2009
UCLA, Foundation for Psychocultural Research, Los Angeles, CA, 2009
ISSTD 26th Fall Conference, Washington, DC, 2009
Ethel LeFrak Holocaust Education Conference at Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA, 2009
Kean University Human Rights Institute Screening, Union, New Jersey, 2009
Indonesian Council Open Conference on the Events of 1965, University of Sydney, Australia, 2009
International Association for Genocide Scholars (IAGS) Annual Conference, Arlington, VA, 2009
British Museum, London, UK, 2008
University of California, Los Angeles Mind, Medicine, and Culture Meeting, Los Angeles, CA, 2008
Case Western Reserve University Conference, Cleveland, OH, 2008
Emory University Conference Atlanta, GA, 2008
Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2008
Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, 2008
Association for Asian Studies Meeting, Atlanta, GA, 2008
International Association of Genocide Scholars Meeting, Sarajevo, Bosnia, 2007

Related Resources
See chapter 15 of Formative Experiences: The Interaction of Caregiving, Culture, and Developmental Psychobiology: "Ethnographic case study: Anak PKI: a longitudinal case study of the effects of social ostracism, violence and bullying on an adolescent Javanese boy."
Study guide - General (PDF)
Study guide - College (PDF)

Documentary Educational Resources

DER Documentary

40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy