A documentary film about the many faces of love, betrayal and violence (81 min)
THE TRAILER
THE SYNOPSIS

Bitter Honey is a feature-length documentary presenting an intimate and emotionally charged portrait of three polygamous families in Bali, Indonesia. Following these families over a seven year period, the film portrays the plight of Balinese co-wives, for whom marriage is frequently characterized by psychological manipulation, infidelity, domestic violence, and economic hardship.
Living in a society where men have authority in many domains, these women have little voice in steering or protesting the conditions of their domestic lives. Bitter Honey draws attention to their struggle, documents the work of those taking steps to better protect and empower them, and aims to trigger a wider conversation about contemporary polygamy and women’s rights in Indonesia. (81 min)
THE FAMILIES
THE STORY OF THREE POLYGAMOUS FAMILIES
HUSBANDS
WIVES
+ CHILDREN
Sang Putu TUAJI

Jero Ketut GATI, 5th wife

Sang Ayu Ketut MANIS, 7th wife

Sayu Nyoman LANUS, 9th wife

Sang Ayu Ketut GIRIASTITI, 10th wife

I Made DARMA

Ni Nyoman Kamareni KIAWATI, 1st wife (ex)

Ni Wayan SULASIH, 2nd wife

Ni Wayan RASTI, 3rd wife

Gusti Ayu SUCI ATI, 4th wife

Ni Nyoman PURNAWATI, 5th wife

I Wayan SADRA

Ni Ketut PURNIASIH, 1st wife

Ni Ketut MURNI Agung, 2nd wife

TUAJI'S WIVES
DARMA'S WIVES
SADRA'S WIVES
GET INVOLVED
ADVOCACY FOR WOMEN IN BALI
We are currently in the early stages of setting up the first gender based violence program in Bali.
If you would like to help women in domestic violence situations and enable positive development, you can donate to the foundations below:
If you would like to help women in domestic violence situations and enable positive development, you can donate to the foundations below:

Bumi Sehat
Bumi Sehat Foundation International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America. Our mission is to provide access to quality healthcare to families; and kind, hygienic and culturally appropriate childbirth to traditionally under-represented populations. Towards these goals, we provide health services, emergency care, education services and environmental programs. We are devoted to working in partnership with people to improve the quality of life and to build peace - one mother, one child, one family at a time.
Bumi Sehat Foundation International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America. Our mission is to provide access to quality healthcare to families; and kind, hygienic and culturally appropriate childbirth to traditionally under-represented populations. Towards these goals, we provide health services, emergency care, education services and environmental programs. We are devoted to working in partnership with people to improve the quality of life and to build peace - one mother, one child, one family at a time.

Asia Foundation
Indonesia was recently ranked in the top 25 percent in the 2012 Open Budget Survey, which measures budget transparency, participation, and oversight in more than 100 countries around the world. Yet corruption, inequity, poverty, and decaying infrastructure are obstacles to Indonesia becoming fully open and thriving. Our programs strengthen the effectiveness of democratic institutions and legal and judicial systems, empower women’s political participation, and support environmental governance. Learn more about the Women's Empowerment Fund
Indonesia was recently ranked in the top 25 percent in the 2012 Open Budget Survey, which measures budget transparency, participation, and oversight in more than 100 countries around the world. Yet corruption, inequity, poverty, and decaying infrastructure are obstacles to Indonesia becoming fully open and thriving. Our programs strengthen the effectiveness of democratic institutions and legal and judicial systems, empower women’s political participation, and support environmental governance. Learn more about the Women's Empowerment Fund

Cherie Blair Foundation
We welcome contributions in all forms to help us provide the resources, skills and support needed for women to reach the next level – and in doing so benefit not just women entrepreneurs, but their children, families and communities at large. Whether through financial support, volunteering or in-kind donations, every contribution counts. Learn more about the Usaha Wanita Mobile Service in Indonesia
We welcome contributions in all forms to help us provide the resources, skills and support needed for women to reach the next level – and in doing so benefit not just women entrepreneurs, but their children, families and communities at large. Whether through financial support, volunteering or in-kind donations, every contribution counts. Learn more about the Usaha Wanita Mobile Service in Indonesia
THE FILMMAKERS

Robert Lemelson
Director & Executive Producer
Robert Lemelson is an anthropologist and documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on the relationship of culture, psychology and personal experience in Indonesia. Lemelson’s area of specialty is Southeast-Asian studies, psychological anthropology and transcultural psychiatry. He is currently an adjunct professor of anthropology at UCLA and a research anthropologist in the Semel Institute of Neuroscience at UCLA.

Alessandra Pasquino
Producer
Alessandra Pasquino has produced broadcast commercials, documentaries and special projects for over 10 years. She has collaborated with many filmmakers and artists including: Oliver Stone, Wayne Wang, Klaus Kinski, Gregory Colbert, Leonardo Di Caprio, Pietro Scalia and Matthew Rolston. She is currently a freelance documentary producer and independent filmmaker.

Chisako Yokoyama
Editor
Chisako Yokoyama has worked as an editor and assistant editor on studio motion pictures, independent features and narrative and documentary films. Her credits as editor include the English and Japanese language independent films “Saki,” “Takamine” and “Goemon” and as first assistant editor, “American Gangster,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Black Hawk Down” and “Good Will Hunting.”

Wing Ko
Director of Photography
Wing Ko has collaborated with a who’s who of modern artists, musicians and filmmakers. He worked with Spike Jonze on several music videos and edited the pilot for MTV’s “Jackass.” Wing helped create more than 80 music videos for Nine Inch Nails, Soundgarden, Public Enemy and other top bands of the time. For more than 15 years he has traveled around the world and crewed skateboard videos.

Malcolm Cross
Music Composer
Cross has been a professional composer for film, television and stage since 1996. He composed the score for “Oh Saigon” a feature-length documentary broadcast on the Sundance Channel. He scored the independent shorts “I Dream of Dog” and “Insomniac,” and wrote the theme and incidental music for the television series “America’s Prom Queen”.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
I have been making documentary films in Indonesia for almost twenty years. After I made a film about the mass killings that occurred there in 1965-66 I began to investigate political brutality, in particular the horrific mass rapes that occurred during the 1998 economic crisis and the fall of the Suharto regime. Realizing that this episode of violence was only one piece of the larger puzzle of gender inequality in Indonesia today, I began to interview a number of women who had suffered domestic violence or abuse. Some of these women were Balinese and a number of them turned out to be part of polygamous families.
I overcame some initial hesitance to start a project about polygamy because, trained as an anthropologist, I was reluctant to portray a kind of marriage that certain audiences might judge negatively. But I soon realized that the emotional stories these wives have to tell held a powerful message about the relationships between men and women and the ways social rules and structures can put women at a disadvantage—or even trap or subjugate them.
I overcame some initial hesitance to start a project about polygamy because, trained as an anthropologist, I was reluctant to portray a kind of marriage that certain audiences might judge negatively. But I soon realized that the emotional stories these wives have to tell held a powerful message about the relationships between men and women and the ways social rules and structures can put women at a disadvantage—or even trap or subjugate them.
For the families I got to know, ongoing male domination and control determine the course of women’s domestic, intimate, and economic lives. Yet in this and other ways, polygamous unions are similar to typical marriages. The struggles of polygamous wives are simply an extension of the overall diminished sense of choice and agency that women still experience in many public and private spheres. Yet this film shows that there are potential solutions and tangible ways to improve the conditions that cause women to suffer.
I was lucky to work with a team of Balinese collaborators who advised me in making this film. We hope that it accurately portrays the complexities of the lives of these families. For Balinese viewers, film screenings with activists have already spurred discussions amongst women about their options and the opportunities for empowerment and positive change in their lives. For others it will offer a window into a world rarely seen, or seen accurately, by outsiders.
I was lucky to work with a team of Balinese collaborators who advised me in making this film. We hope that it accurately portrays the complexities of the lives of these families. For Balinese viewers, film screenings with activists have already spurred discussions amongst women about their options and the opportunities for empowerment and positive change in their lives. For others it will offer a window into a world rarely seen, or seen accurately, by outsiders.
WATCH
HOW TO WATCH
- NEWLY RELEASED NOVEMBER 2015
- Educational sales at Documentary Educational Resources
- Other sales at Passion River
JOIN MAILING LIST
REQUEST SCREENING OR SPEAKER
FILM FESTIVALS
- Days of Ethnographic Film, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2015
- FIFEQ, Montreal, Quebec, 2015
- AAS Film Expo, Chicago, 2015
- ETNOFILM, Croatia, 2015
- RAI International Festival of Ethnographic Film, Bristol, UK, 2015
- Tiburon Film Society, Sausalito, CA, 2015
- Taiwanese International Ethnographic Film Festival, Taipei, Taiwan, 2015
- RAI International Festival of Ethnographic Film at USC, Los Angeles, 2016
CONFERENCES
- Society for Psychological Anthropology Biennial Conference, San Diego, CA, 2013
- Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, 2013
- Future of Monogamy and Nonmonogamy Conference, Berkeley, CA, 2015
THEATRICAL SCREENINGS
- October 3-9, 2014 - The Regent Theater, Los Angeles, CA
- October 17-23, 2014 - Presidio Theater San Francisco, CA
- October 24-30, 2014 - Apple Cinemas Freshpond, Boston, MA
- October 31-November 6, 2014 - IFC NY Theater, New York, NY
- October 31-November 6, 2014 - AMC River East, Chicago, IL
- November 7-13, 2014 - West End Cinema, Washington, DC
- November 13, 14, 15, 2014 @ 7pm - Gateway Megaplex, Salt Lake City, Utah
- November 30, 2014 @ 4:30pm - Hollywood Theater Portland, OR
SCREENINGS
- UCLA Mind, Medicine and Culture Group, Los Angeles, CA, 2012
- Asia Society, New York, NY, 2014
- Clinton Global Initiative, NY, 2014
PRESS
- "An exposé and call for social reform in Bali, [director Robert] Lemelson offers an eye-opening look behind Bali's profile as a tourist Shangri-la."-Sheri Linden, LA Times. Read the full review
- "An informative look at how outdated traditions play out today" - Joe DeFore, The Hollywood Reporter. Read the full review
- "Forget the Bali you see in pictures, the shocking documentary “Bitter Honey” shows a side of the tropical paradise where polygamy and domestic abuse reigns." -Dorri Olds, TheBlot Magazine. Read the full review
- UCLA Newsroom
- "Fascinating and undoubtedly important, this is a doc you'll want to keep an eye out for." -Indiewire
- "An intimate and provocative film." -Rachel Cooper, Asia Society
PRESS & MEDIA INQUIRIES
Weiman Seid
FAT DOT
212-691-4224
weimanseid@fatdot.net
FAT DOT
212-691-4224
weimanseid@fatdot.net
DOWNLOAD PRESS KIT
LATEST NEWS
RAI International Festival of Ethnograph Film – OFFICIAL SELECTION
We are pleased to announce that Bitter Honey is an official selection of the Royal Anthropological Institute's (RAI) International...
Portland Premiere
Join us on Sunday, November 30, 2014 for the 4:30pm screening followed by a Q&A session with Director Robert Lemelson and Rebecca...
Salt Lake City Premiere
Join us on Friday, November 14, 2014 for the 7pm screening followed by a conversation with Director Robert Lemelson and Broadcaster/Journalist...
DC Premiere
Join us on Friday, November 7, 2014 for the 7:20pm* screening followed by a conversation with Director Robert Lemelson and moderated...
CONTACT US
Elemental Productions is a documentary film production company based in Los Angeles that is dedicated to making documentary films on social and cultural issues in Southeast Asia and the United States. The company was founded in 2007 by anthropologist Robert Lemelson, and evolved out of years of fieldwork and thousands of hours of footage gathered in 1997.