8 September, 2008
Based on the shocking true events of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in 1975, ‘BALIBO’ stars LaPaglia as Australian television journalist Roger East, who takes an unofficial job as the head of the East Timor News Agency at the behest of young idealistic revolutionary José Ramos-Horta. While reporting on the bloody suppression of the East Timorese at the hands of the Indonesians, East attempts to discover the fate of five missing Australian journalists, who disappeared from the border village of Balibo some weeks previously.
Connolly, who previously worked with LaPaglia on Australian crime thriller ‘The Bank’ directed from a script he co-wrote with writer David Williamson (‘Gallipoli’, ‘The Year of Living Dangerously’). BALIBO utilises archival newsreel footage from the original conflict, some of it taken by the missing journalists. The film was shot in Darwin, Australia and on location in East Timor.
Arenafilm’s John Maynard (‘Sweetie’, ‘The Boys’, ‘The Bank’, ‘Three Dollars, ‘Romulus My Father’) produces his third film with Connolly , with Rebecca Williamson.
“The four weeks in Timor Leste has given a real edge and value to Balibo as we shot in the same locations of the events in 1975” said Maynard .
ContentFilm International is selling the film worldwide and co-financed ‘BALIBO’ alongside Australia’s FFC and regional funding body Film Victoria.
