John Darling

Acclaimed filmmaker John Darling lived in Bali through the 1970s and 1980s. During that time, he created the films that established him as the leading foreign filmmaker of Indonesia. This included Lempad of Bali, which celebrated the life and times of the astonishing Balinese artist Gusti Nyoman Lempad. Today, Darling is often remembered for his documentary The Healing of Bali, made in the immediate aftermath of the October 2002 bombing in Kuta and described in The Sydney Morning Herald as a ‘masterpiece’.

This collection of essays is a multifaceted portrayal of Darling’s years in Bali, revealing the cultural experiences that shaped him. Transcending conventional biography, it contains essays in his honour, paired with his poetry and photographs, as well as critical essays on his work and personal reminiscences of his life from Balinese and Australian expatriates. It is a book for fans of John’s work as well as the new generation of filmmakers he inspired, and those with an interest in Balinese culture and Bali’s cosmopolitan expatriate scene in the 1970s and 1980s.

Published in conjunction with Monash University’s Herb Feith Indonesian Engagement Centre

About the Authors

Anton Lucas is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Flinders University, South Australia. His publications include books and articles on the Indonesian revolution, and on agrarian and environmental issues. His connection with John goes back to their schooldays together and they began their research careers in Indonesia at the same time in 1970.

Graeme MacRae is an anthropologist who works at Massey University, Auckland. He has been researching in Indonesia, mainly Bali, since the early 1990s. His connection with John was originally through the same neighbourhood, family and mentor that John had lived with two decades earlier.