Balibo

Balibo (2009)

One Man Searches For The Truth. One Man Fights For Justice.

As Indonesia prepares to invade the tiny nation of East Timor, five Australian based journalists go missing. Four weeks later, veteran foreign correspondent Roger East is lured to East Timor by the young and charismatic José Ramos-Horta to tell the story of his country and investigate the fate of the missing men. As East's determination to uncover the truth grows, the threat of invasion intensifie

Date of release
2009-07-21
TMDB
6.5 / 10 (50)
Runtime
1h 51m
Genres
Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Director
Robert Connolly

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Box office: A$1.3M
  • Awards: 4 · Nominations: 12. Including: AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role; AACTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay; AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role; AACTA Award for Best Editing

Balibo is a 2009 Australian war film directed by Robert Connolly. Based on true events, the film follows the story of the Balibo Five, a group of journalists who were captured and killed while reporting on activities a few months prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in December 1975. The film, which takes its name from the town of Balibo, is loosely based on the 2001 book Cover-Up by Jill Jolliffe, an Australian journalist who met the men before they were killed.

Production

Balibo was the first feature film to be made in East Timor. Shooting in Dili began on 31 July 2008, with United Nations police closing off roads, to allow the scenes to be filmed. 16mm-to-35mm visuals were shot at the actual locations where the events took place give a documentary-style texture.

Robert Connolly directed the film, David Williamson wrote the script and Clinton Fernandes served as historical consultant. The film was produced by Connolly's Arenafilms in Australia, with John Maynard and Rebecca Williamson serving as producers. Tristan Milani was responsible for the cinematography, and Nick Meyers edited the film. Australian musician and composer Lisa Gerrard composed the score.

Oscar Isaac plays the young José Ramos-Horta, who would later receive the Nobel Peace Prize and become the second President of East Timor.

The film's version of events was validated by an Australian coroner in 2007. After a fresh review of the evidence, the coroner ruled that the journalists were executed as they tried to surrender to Indonesian forces. The filmmakers hoped that Balibo would spur the Australian Government into action.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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