Balibo (2009)

War correspondent Roger East and the young Jose Ramos-Horta travel to East Timor to investigate the murders of the Balibo Five in 1975.

Director:

Robert Connolly

Writers:

Robert Connolly, Jill Jolliffe (book)

Stars:

Jane Hampson, Bea Viegas, Christine Martins

13 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jane Hampson	...	Secretary
Bea Viegas	...	Juliana
Christine Martins	...	Juliana's Child
Ana Rosa Mendoça	...	Juliana's Child
Mazarela Martins	...	Juliana's Child
Nazário Baptista	...	Juliana's Child
Michael Stone	...	Interviewer
Jose Belo	...	Interviewer's Assistant
Anamaria Barreto	...	Young Juliana
Nick Farnell	...	Ken White
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Roger East
Ella Watson-Russell	...	Secretary
Oscar Isaac	...	José Ramos-Horta
Simon Stone	...	Tony Maniaty
Thomas M. Wright	...	Brian Peters (as Thomas Wright)

Storyline

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 intensifies and an unlikely friendship develops between the last foreign correspondent in East Timor and the man who will become President. BALIBO is a political thriller that tells the true story of crimes that have been covered up for over thirty years.

---

Plot Keywords:

east timor | murder | journalist | invasion | indonesia | 

---

Taglines:

East Timor, 1975: Five Journalists Are Missing. One Man Searches For The Truth. One Man Fights For Justice.

---

Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 August 2009 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Балибо

Filming Locations:

Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$922,612

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arenafilm, Balibo Film, Cinimod Film

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The word "firefight" was not in use in 1975. It would have been called a battle.

The term "firefight" came into use in 1899 and was defined as a brief exchange of fire between combatants.

---

Quotes

Roger East: No... No... I'm Australian.

User Reviews

Historically inaccurate.

This movie is historically inaccurate and over exaggerated. Some facts about the real historical events:

-The journalist Roger East was never cajoled out of his public service job by the young Fretilin foreign spokesman Jose Ramos Horta to work in East Timor, and nor did Ramos-Horta hand him an AUSTEO (Australian Eyes Only) dossier on the Balibo Five

-East and Ramos-Horta never trekked on foot to Balibo, and nor were they attacked by a US helicopter along the way.

-The Indonesians didn't attack up the hill in front of the Balibo fort, but from around the back of the village.

-The senior commander of the Balibo operation for the Indonesian army, Colonel Dading Kalbuadi, didn't put a pistol to the head of the journalist Brian Peters and shoot him dead. He was 10 km away at the time.

-East wasn't captured trying to send his last report from Dili's Marconi radio office.

-And it's unlikely that General Benny Murdani, the Indonesian army intelligence chief, was observing the executions of East and Timorese people on the Dili wharf on 8 December, dressed in a white safari suit, though he did parachute into Dili some time that day.