Abstract:

Shadow Master is a dramatic documentary about a family of dancers and shadow masters in Bali. The film is a dramatization of events which occurred during the filming process, and during the two years Reed spent living and studying with dalang (shadow master) I Nyoman Rajeg and his extended family.

Told from the point of view Suartini, the dalang's daughter, all the actors in the film are members of the family and co-creators of the story. Koman Negara, just 5 years old when the film was shot, is now himself the village dalang.

Filmed in 1979 before the onslaught of mass tourism, the film has high historical and cultural value. It has aired on PBS and the Discovery Channel.