We have been filming for over 10 years starting since 1997 and have over 400 hours of raw footage.
Being Jewish and being aware of the Holocaust from a very young age were factors. I also did my first fieldwork in 1983-84 with survivors of the genocide in Cambodia, a very traumatized population. There, it was the communists who did the killing.
Some of them were subjects from the anthropological research I was conducting, some were colleagues, and others were known for their advocacy work.I now consider all of them close personal friends and am still in contact with them. Some feared for their personal safety but ultimately, they all felt that their stories should be told. It was only after I knew them well that they agreed to speak about their experiences during1965andafterwards.
In the early to mid-1960s, the economic policies of Indonesias first president, Sukarno, were quite disruptive and there was tremendous poverty, destitution and suffering. The Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), which was the third-largest communist party in the world, was very popular. The Vietnam War was ratcheting up and many people in Indonesia and in the West were very frightened of the PKI. On September 30, 1965, there was a coup attempt that was subsequently blamed entirely on the PKI. Six generals and a colonel were either killed or kidnapped and later executed. It was rapidly suppressed, but provided the casus belli that General Suharto needed. He took control of the military and used the coup in the words of University of British Columbia Professor John Russo, one of the historians in the film as a pretext for mass murder.
There are both similarities and differences between the mass killings of 1965and other mass killings of the 20th century. One of the striking features of the violence under General Suhartos regime was the degree to which the government successfully repressed all memorials, remembrances, and recollections of the event. The Suharto regime created a monolithic state narrative, and thus the world knows very little of this horrific and tragic history. There was an enforced silence in Indonesia because the perpetrators remained in power for decades afterwards.
It is only now that Indonesians are beginning to speak out, and this film represents part of that effort. Whenever I have given talks about this, even to highly educated audiences, rarely do people know about this event, even though it was among the largest mass killings of the 20th century. This brings to mind the quote from Adolf Hitler,who, in planning the Final Solution stated, Who remembers the Armenians? His belief was that he could act with impunity because he believed no one remembered or chose to care about the Armenian Genocide. The will to bear witness in the efforts to bring such events as the mass killings of 1965 to wide attention are necessary correctives to the silencing of millions.
It is only now that Indonesians are beginning to speak out, and this film represents part of that effort. Whenever I have given talks about this, even to highly educated audiences, rarely do people know about this event, even though it was among the largest mass killings of the 20th century. This brings to mind the quote from Adolf Hitler,who, in planning the Final Solution stated, Who remembers the Armenians? His belief was that he could act with impunity because he believed no one remembered or chose to care about the Armenian Genocide. The will to bear witness in the efforts to bring such events as the mass killings of 1965 to wide attention are necessary correctives to the silencing of millions.
The government reacted negatively to the release of the film, and my work permit was pulled for several years after its release, which meant I could not return to Indonesia and continue my research and filming. After meeting with Indonesian government officials, explaining my purpose and hearing their concerns, we were able to arrange a screening at the Indonesian Consulate in Los Angeles. We have also done limited screenings, to large audiences in Java and Bali, at universities, at human rights centers, and at some Indonesian government facilities. I have also had my work and research permit reinstated. The subjects in the films continue to come to screenings to answer questions from the audience, and have become advocates for a more open and tolerant search for truth and reconciliation.
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What is the English language plot outline for 40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy (2009)?
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