Afflictions: Culture & Mental Illness In Indonesia Part 2

This film series highlights severe mental illnesses in Bali and Java both a part of the country Indonesia. The entire documentary is divided into a sequence of six graphically diverse films. The six series are split into two different films. Part one discusses “thought confusion” and part two is on “neuropsychiatric complications”. This film uses the extensive research of Robert Lemelson an anthropologist and director.

This portion of the documentary spotlights three very dissimilar people coming from different walks of life with their own stories to tell.

'Memory of My Face' is about how the knowledge of psychological sickness can be changed by the remaining colonialism evidence and the growing effect spawned by globalizing.

'Ritual Burdens' is trying to answer a question that even a specialist would find arduous to answer. How are the occurrences of mentally related illnesses connected to shared religious beliefs and ritual activity in modern day Bali.

'Kites and Monsters' tracks a young boy with Tourette’s syndrome and his journey to manhood. It focuses on how cultural ties can work in their defense and lead to cases with enhanced outcomes and recovery.

The director states, “In the end, it is my hope that the findings clarified and made accessible in “Afflictions” help shape the care and treatment of the mentally ill in Indonesia, in other developing nations and around the world.”

To see this story unfold come watch it at the film festival in September.