Balibo (film)

This article is about the film. For the town, see Balibo. For the administrative post, see Balibo Administrative Post.

Balibo
Theatrical film poster
Directed byRobert Connolly
Screenplay byRobert Connolly
David Williamson
Based onCover-Up by
Jill Jolliffe
Produced byAnthony LaPaglia
Dominic Purcell
StarringAnthony LaPaglia
Oscar Isaac
Damon Gameau
Gyton Grantley
Nathan Phillips
Mark Winter
Thomas Wright
Bea Viegas
CinematographyTristan Milani
Edited byNick Meyers
Music byLisa Gerrard & Marcello De Francisci
Distributed byTransmission Films
Release dates
  • 24 July 2009 (2009-07-24) (MIFF)
  • 14 August 2009 (2009-08-14) (Australia)
Running time
111 minutes
CountriesAustralia
East Timor
LanguagesEnglish
Tetum
BudgetAU$4,500,000

Balibo is a 2009 Australian war film that follows the story of the Balibo Five, a group of journalists who were captured and killed while reporting on activities just prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor of 1975. The film is loosely based on the 2001 book Cover-Up by Jill Jolliffe, an Australian journalist who met the men before they were killed.

The film follows dishevelled journalist Roger East, played by Anthony LaPaglia, who travels to East Timor in 1975 to investigate the deaths of the Balibo Five during the buildup to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor.[1] Oscar Isaac plays the young José Ramos-Horta, who would later receive the Nobel Peace Prize and become the second President of East Timor,[2] who joins East in the movie.

Filming began on 30 June 2008, in Dili, East Timor,[3] and the film was released the following year. It was produced by Arenafilm in Australia with Robert Connolly as director, David Williamson as screenwriter, and Professor Clinton Fernandes as historical consultant.[4][5] LaPaglia, also an Executive Producer, named East as "probably the best role I've ever had".[6]

  1. ^ "LaPaglia leads Balibo five thriller cast". ABC. 28 September 2007.
  2. ^ "BALIBO IN PRODUCTION". Urban Cinefile. 3 July 2008. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  3. ^ "Movie stars looking to bed with Darwin locals". ABC. 29 April 2008.
  4. ^ "Robert Connolly producer / director / writer". Arena Film. 2 March 2007.
  5. ^ "Timor – the Balibo Five | School of Humanities and Social Sciences | UNSW Canberra". Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  6. ^ Hatherley2009-07-24T12:00:00+01:00, Frank. "Balibo". Screendaily.com. Retrieved 19 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)