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Offended Bali Officials Investigating Director Of Controversial ‘Gigolo’ Documentary
Made Arya Kencana | April 28, 2010

A photo from a scene from the documentary featured on the film’s Facebook page. The film traces the interaction of Indonesian gigolos and tourists. A photo from a scene from the documentary featured on the film’s Facebook page. The film traces the interaction of Indonesian gigolos and tourists.
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ChrisH
6:03pm Apr 28, 2010

Even after JG had their exclusive interview with the director, they still use the word Gigolo.

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL!

Seems to turn on a great many people who read these articles. (or making them jealous)

Only today, 3 or 4 articles about the subject on JG.

Jeanne Hachette
2:08pm Apr 28, 2010

Batam is becoming the brothel of Singapore and Malaysia but strange how nothing is said or done about it.

Jeanne Hachette
2:06pm Apr 28, 2010

The best way to keep Bali clean is to start by picking up the trash on the beaches which should be the top priority. A lot of surfers are sun tanned and muscular. Does it mean that surfing in Bali can take you to jail or is surfing haram?

jhartono
9:56am Apr 28, 2010

this "Kuta's cowboy" phenomena has been around since...a very long ago...as I had an experience when I went there with my friends in 1987. Probably because we didn't look like Indonesians, those "cowboys" offered us services such as accompanying to the bar/restaurant, being a guide etc. We knew they were willing to offer more than that because we overheard them talking in 'bahasa'... :-)

So I guess first the Indonesian gouvernment in Bali have to accept it as a part of social & moral changing that have been accumulated for years. Second, if they want to keep Bali "clean"...they have to find the cause of the phenomenon... Arresting the "cowboys" will not solving the problems...

Tony The Tiger
8:13am Apr 28, 2010

Good riddance!

I say it again, good riddance!

As someone who has worked on the necessary paper works to just simply take videos for research purposes, I've experienced the red tape (read=bribes) that one has to go through. Now that someone has gone and do this right under their noses, I can't help but smile.

Kuta. Stung by the new documentary “Cowboys in Paradise,” which examines the phenomenon of “Kuta Cowboys” — gigolos working Bali’s beaches and bars — Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said on Tuesday that he would investigate whether the director had the necessary permits to film on the island.

The former Bali Police chief expressed disappointment at the documentary, which he claimed only focused on the negative side of the Island of the Gods.

“I thank Kuta’s residents who helped conduct raids against those they suspect of being gigolos,” Made Mangku said, referring to the questioning of 28 well-built men on the beach on Monday. “The main thing is, do not use violence.”

News of the documentary has spread across Web sites nationwide, and Bali Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Gde Sugianyar Dwi Putra confirmed that Bali Police were investigating it.

The film, completed last year after two years in production, premiered at the DMZ Documentary Film Festival in South Korea last Wednesday.

“We are still collecting some information because we have only seen part of the movie from YouTube. We haven’t seen the whole movie yet,” Sugianyar said, adding that police would coordinate with the supervisory body that issued filmmaking permits.

The film — which documents the relationships between foreign female tourists and male prostitutes, the “Kuta Cowboys” of the title — immediately touched a raw nerve, with Kuta Beach task force members raiding the beach.

Amit Virmani, the documentary’s director, said he has received hate mail and threats. In an interview with the Jakarta Globe (see story below) he said he was horrified at the reaction and hoped the film was not used as an excuse to victimize the beach boys.

Kuta traditional village chief Gusti Ketut Sudira acknowledged that “the gigolo phenomenon has been around for some time in Bali, maybe 20 years or so,” and said the footage of Kuta was genuine.

But he insisted that no “Kuta Cowboy” featured in the movie was local to the area. The director should be made to identify the men appearing, he insisted.

“The movie must contain a detailed explanation on who it actually is referring to as a gigolo,” he said. “I’m positive that most of them are outsiders, not residents of Kuta, as implied in the film.”

Unlike Amit Virmani, who did not seem to find any trouble identifying which of the scores of muscular men hanging out at Kuta beach could be gigolos, Gusti Ketut said it was difficult to identify them.

“This community conducts its activities in a secretive manner or through covers, like acting as a food or drink seller or providing other services on the beach he said. “Raids will continue. If we find anyone on the beach who has no business there, we will process them.”

Meanwhile, rules must be tightened on filming, he added.

“It is so easy to get permission to film the Kuta area. This is a valuable lesson to us. We will tighten such measures from now on. We will demand recommendations on which film crews can operate. We do not want this to ever happen again.”

 

Additional reporting by Dessy Sagita
Aphoto from a scene from the documentary featured on the film’s Facebook page. The film traces the interaction of Indonesian gigolos and tourists.