A Balinese rice farmer haunted by the spirit world (35 min)

The film 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.

Kereta’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.

“There are people who are sick and, until they die, nobody cares for the. They just disappear.”
— Nyoman Kereta

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Credits

Director
Producer
DP
Consulting Editor
Editor
Music Composer
Music Editor

Robert Lemelson
Robert Lemelson & Alessandra Pasquino
Wing Ko
Pietro Scalia
Wing Ko
Malcolm Cross
Richard Henderson

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Awards

  • Win­ner, Award of Excel­lence, Best Shorts Com­pe­ti­tion, La Jolla, CA, 2012
  • Win­ner, Best Doc­u­men­tary Fea­ture, Los Ange­les Shad­ows and Illu­mi­na­tions, Inter­na­tional Under­ground Film Fes­ti­val, Los Ange­les, CA, 2012
  • Win­ner, 1st Place Doc­u­men­tary Fea­ture, Los Ange­les Reel Film Fes­ti­val, Los Ange­les, CA, 2012
  • Nom­i­nee, Hon­or­able Men­tion, Rich­mond Inter­na­tional Film Fes­ti­val, Rich­mond, VA, 2012
  • Win­ner, Spe­cial Jury Prize, Cal­i­for­nia Film Awards, San Diego, CA, 2012
  • Win­ner, Award of Excel­lence, Acco­lades Film, Tele­vi­sion, New Media and Videog­ra­phy Awards, Los Ange­les, CA, 2012
  • Nom­i­nee, Best Lim­ited Series, Inter­na­tional Doc­u­men­tary Asso­ci­a­tion Awards, Los Ange­les, CA, 2010
  • Win­ner, Cine Golden Eagle Award, 2011
  • Win­ner, Spe­cial Jury Prize, Cal­i­for­nia Film Awards, San Diego, CA, 2013
  • Win­ner, Award of Excel­lence, Inter­na­tional Film Fes­ti­val for Peace, Inspi­ra­tion and Equal­ity, Jakarta, Indone­sia, 2010

 

Festivals

  • Jean Rouch Inter­na­tional Ethno­graphic Film Fes­ti­val, Paris, France, 2011
  • Los Ange­les Inter­na­tional Under­ground Film Fes­ti­val, Los Ange­les, CA.
  • Rich­mond Inter­na­tional Film Fes­ti­val, Rich­mond, VA.
  • Jean Rouch Inter­na­tional Ethno­graphic Film Fes­ti­val, Paris, France, 2011
  • Los Ange­les Reel Film Fes­ti­val, Los Ange­les, CA, 2012
  • Win­ner, Sil­ver Screen Award, Nevada Film Fes­ti­val, Las Vegas, NV, 2010
  • Gig Har­bor Film Fes­ti­val, Gig Har­bor, WA, 2010
  •  Soci­ety for Visual Anthro­pol­ogy Media Fes­ti­val, New Orleans, LA, 2010
  • Fin­ger Lakes Envi­ron­men­tal Film Fes­ti­val, Ithaca, NY, 2011
  • Glo­bians world+culture Doc­u­men­tary Film Fes­ti­val, Berlin, Ger­many, 2011
  • Tai­wan Inter­na­tional Ethno­graphic Film Fes­ti­val, Taipei, Tai­wan, 2011
  • Soci­ety for Visual Anthro­pol­ogy Media Fes­ti­val, New Orleans, LA, 2011
  • Aware­ness Film Fes­ti­val, Los Ange­les, CA, 2012
  • Cincin­nati Film Fes­ti­val, Cincin­nati, OH 2012

Conferences

  • Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan, Cul­ture, Mind and the Brain Con­fer­ence, Ann Arbor, MI, 2012
  • Soci­ety for Psy­cho­log­i­cal Anthro­pol­ogy Meet­ing, Santa Mon­ica, CA, 2011
  • Soci­ety for the Study of Psy­chi­a­try and Cul­ture Annual Meet­ing, Seat­tle, WA, 2011
  • Clin­i­cal Ethno­graphic Sem­i­nar: Uni­ver­sity of Chicago Clin­i­cal Ethnog­ra­phy, The Com­mit­tee on South­ern
  • Stud­ies and the Com­par­a­tive Human Devel­op­ment Work­shop on Cul­ture, Chicago, IL, 2011
  • World Psy­chi­atric Asso­ci­a­tion The­matic Con­fer­ence, Istan­bul, Turkey, 2011
  • Soci­ety for Psy­cho­log­i­cal Anthro­pol­ogy Meet­ing. San Diego, CA, 2013
  •  American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting, New York City, 2014

Screenings

  • USC Mas­ters of Visual Anthro­pol­ogy Sem­i­nar, Los Ange­les, CA, 2010
  • Rut­gers Uni­ver­sity, Com­par­a­tive Reli­gion Class, Newark, NJ, 2012
  • Hamp­shire Col­lege, Amherst, MA, 2012
  • Brunel Uni­ver­sity Sem­i­nar, Lon­don, UK, 2012
  • Cal State Uni­ver­sity Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, 2011
  • Uni­ver­sity of Chicago, Clin­i­cal Ethnog­ra­phy Work­shop, Chicago, IL, 2011
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Shadows and Illuminations: Multi-Touch eBook

With a complete documentary film, ethnography, and multi-media interactive study guide contained in one package, this immersive ebook is anthropology for the 21st century. It provides students and educators with an innovative and updated way to explore key topics in psychological anthropology through the story of Kereta, a Balinese man who believes he lives in two worlds, the everyday world and the world of the spirits. His case raises fascinating questions about culture, personal experience, mental illness, and trauma.

Ideal for use in college-level survey and upper-division anthropology courses, the ebook offers multiple educational features including biographical and cultural information, theoretical investigations, glossary, review quizzes, essay prompts, group discussion questions, and more. Its media-rich format will engage students with over one hundred still photographs, video extras, a complete original soundtrack and behind-the-scenes glimpses into fieldwork and ethnographic filmmaking.