Director Robert Lemelson in attendance. Q&A after the film, moderated by Rebecca Peatow Nickels, the Executive Director of the
Portland Women’s Crisis Line.
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 four-year period, the film portrays the
plight of the 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. Although polygamy is somewhat uncommon in Bali,
the film draws attention to women’s issues, documents the work of those
taking steps to better protect and empower them, and inspires a wider
conversation about women’s rights in Indonesia.