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IMDbPro

Robert Lemelson(I)

  • Producer
  • Director
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Shadows & Illuminations follows an older Balinese man, Nyoman Kereta, as he struggles with the intrusion of spirits into his consciousness. Kereta says he has been living in two worlds, the world of his family and community and the world of the spirits, for the past 40 years. His experiences skirt the borders of cultural and spiritual norms, simultaneously manifesting and exceeding Balinese beliefs about the supernatural world and the possibilities for human interaction with it. KeretaÂ’s reported experiences seem credible or explicable to some, bizarre and extraordinary to others, enigmatic or doubtful to his wife, and the sign of major mental illness to his psychiatrist. The film documents his painful history of trauma, loss and poisoning, and draws on his other family member's interpretations of how to understand his struggles and distress. Central questions of how to interpret his experiences, and what role a schizophrenia diagnosis entails are explored. Shadows & Illuminations is part of the three part series, Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia, which was shot over the course of 12 years in Bali and Java, Indonesia, as a result of longitudinal ethnographic fieldwork conducted by psychological anthropologist Robert Lemelson, exploring the relationship between culture, mental illness and personal experience. Through a trilogy of person-centered case studies, Afflictions seeks to address a series of questions about mental illness, difference, and deviance. Shadows & Illuminations addresses how to understand personal experiences considered bizarre or beyond the boundaries of normal. The Bird Dancer addresses how to understand stigma, difference, and the nature of suffering. Family Victim addresses how to understand those who are troublesome or disruptive in their social world.
Play trailer1:31
Shadows & Illuminations (2010)
Robert Lemelson is known for 40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy (2009), Tajen (2017) and Afflictions: Culture & Mental Illness in Indonesia, Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders (2010).
  • More at IMDbPro
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Add photos, demo reels
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    • Awards
      • 3 nominations total

    Known for

    40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy (2009)
    40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy
    8.0
    • Producer
    • 2009
    Tajen (2017)
    Tajen
    Short
    • Producer
    • 2017
    Afflictions: Culture & Mental Illness in Indonesia, Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders (2010)
    Afflictions: Culture & Mental Illness in Indonesia, Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders
    7.7
    • Producer
    • 2010
    Gusti Ayu Suartini in Movements and Madness: Gusti Ayu (2006)
    Movements and Madness: Gusti Ayu
    • Producer
    • 2006

    Credits

    IMDbPro

    Producer

    • Tajen: Interactive (2019)
      Tajen: Interactive
      Short
      • producer
      • 2019
    • Tajen (2017)
      Tajen
      Short
      • executive producer
      • producer
      • 2017
    • The Apron and the Robe
      Short
      • executive producer
      • 2014
    • Bitter Honey (2014)
      Bitter Honey
      6.1
      • executive producer
      • 2014
    • Ngaben: Emotion and Restraint in a Balinese Heart (2012)
      Ngaben: Emotion and Restraint in a Balinese Heart
      Video
      • producer
      • 2012
    • Standing on the Edge of a Thorn (2012)
      Standing on the Edge of a Thorn
      Short
      • producer
      • 2012
    • Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia, Volume 2: Neuropsychiatric Disorders (2011)
      Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia, Volume 2: Neuropsychiatric Disorders
      • producer
      • 2011
    • Jathilan: Trance and Possession in Java (2011)
      Jathilan: Trance and Possession in Java
      Short
      • producer
      • 2011
    • Kites and Monsters (2011)
      Kites and Monsters
      Video
      • producer
      • 2011
    • Memory of My Face (2011)
      Memory of My Face
      Video
      • producer
      • 2011
    • Ritual Burdens (2011)
      Ritual Burdens
      Video
      • producer
      • 2011
    • Afflictions: Culture & Mental Illness in Indonesia, Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders (2010)
      Afflictions: Culture & Mental Illness in Indonesia, Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders
      7.7
      • producer
      • 2010
    • Family Victim (2010)
      Family Victim
      Video
      • producer
      • 2010
    • The Bird Dancer (2010)
      The Bird Dancer
      Video
      • producer
      • 2010
    • Shadows & Illuminations (2010)
      Shadows & Illuminations
      Short
      • producer
      • 2010

    Director

    • All God's Children
      • Director
      • 2023
    • Wawan's Prayer
      Short
      • Director
      • 2022
    • Tajen: Interactive (2019)
      Tajen: Interactive
      Short
      • Director
      • 2019
    • Tajen (2017)
      Tajen
      Short
      • Director
      • 2017
    • Bitter Honey (2014)
      Bitter Honey
      6.1
      • Director
      • 2014
    • Ngaben: Emotion and Restraint in a Balinese Heart (2012)
      Ngaben: Emotion and Restraint in a Balinese Heart
      Video
      • Director
      • 2012
    • Standing on the Edge of a Thorn (2012)
      Standing on the Edge of a Thorn
      Short
      • Director
      • 2012
    • Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia, Volume 2: Neuropsychiatric Disorders (2011)
      Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia, Volume 2: Neuropsychiatric Disorders
      • Director
      • 2011
    • Jathilan: Trance and Possession in Java (2011)
      Jathilan: Trance and Possession in Java
      Short
      • Director
      • 2011
    • Kites and Monsters (2011)
      Kites and Monsters
      Video
      • Director
      • 2011
    • Memory of My Face (2011)
      Memory of My Face
      Video
      • Director
      • 2011
    • Ritual Burdens (2011)
      Ritual Burdens
      Video
      • Director
      • 2011
    • Afflictions: Culture & Mental Illness in Indonesia, Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders (2010)
      Afflictions: Culture & Mental Illness in Indonesia, Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders
      7.7
      • Director
      • 2010
    • Family Victim (2010)
      Family Victim
      Video
      • Director
      • 2010
    • The Bird Dancer (2010)
      The Bird Dancer
      Video
      • Director
      • 2010

    Writer

    • Gusti Ayu Suartini in Movements and Madness: Gusti Ayu (2006)
      Movements and Madness: Gusti Ayu
      • Writer
      • 2006

    Videos2

    Shadows & Illuminations
    Trailer 1:31
    Shadows & Illuminations
    40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy
    Trailer 2:30
    40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy
    40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy
    Trailer 2:30
    40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy

    Did you know

    • Trivia
      Son of Jerome Lemelson, the inventor of the bar-code.

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