"Answered by Fire" (2006) TV mini-series

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Jessica Hobbs

Writers:

Barbara Samuels (written by)
Katherine Thomson (written by)

Release Date:

28 May 2006 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An action packed mini series set against the tumultuous lead up to the 1999 referendum in East Timor and its horrifying aftermath...

Plot Keywords:

TV Mini-Series

Awards:

5 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Daniela Carvalho	...	Singing Girl
Alex Tilman	...	Ismenio Soares
Fatima Almeida	...	Madalena Soares
Damien Garvey	...	Ron Nestovic
Felisberto Araujo	...	João Soares
José da Costa	...	Sico Soares
David Wenham	...	Mark Waldman
Ron White	...	Bill
Toni Scanlan	...	Robyn
Linda Cropper	...	Liz Savage
Tara Morice	...	Helen Waldman
Ines Araujo	...	Maria Siga
Angelo Lemos	...	José Sarmento
Francisco de Carvalho	...	Joaquim
Afonso Corte Real	...	Father Faria

Country:

Canada | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

East Timor

Company:

Beyond Simpson le Mesurier

Trivia:

The Queensland sets and locations were so realistic that a lot of the East Timorese actors and community involved with Answered by Fire believed they were actually in East Timor.

Brilliant

The production and direction of this mini is brilliant.

The casting of Wenham as the Aussie cop Mark Waldman was captivating. Wenham led the cast in recreating the heroism of individuals trying to protect the Timorese during a vote that was flawed from the beginning.

On many occasions we cried as we watched " Answered by Fire" and recalled what happened in Timor in 1999.

Why was this so good, because it showed it was. The characters,the script and in particular the roles played by the local Timorese. These people gave stellar gut wrenching performances as they were often recreating the actual events in their own lives during the 1999 vote. This mini appropriately depicts in a captivating mesmerising way, the tragedy and sheer neglect that was the U.N monitored vote in East Timor.

Both the U.N and The Australia Government knew what was likely to occur, yet they sent poorly armed and defended civilian police and staff to East Timor to arrange and supervise the vote. They encouraged the terrified civilians to vote knowing the blood bath that would accompany a yes vote. The U.N told the Timorese that the international community would remain after the vote, yet when things got ugly, when the murdering of the Timorese by the TNI and the local militia began, the U.N packed and ran like cowards. As a result many brave Timorese who voted yes were slaughtered, and still those Indonesians guilty of crimes against humanity sit in Jakarta untouched by the International Community After Rwanda the U.N said never again.

Thanks to this program we will not forget how useless Annan and the U.N were and still are in protecting the weak from the strong.

So thank you "Answered by Fire" for bringing these tragic happenings in Timor to the screen so that many people around the world to see and never forget them.