On stage Rhonda: provided a brief description of CETAF; invited interested people to join our group; and, introduced Ian Siede. Ian recalled some moving memories of his second cousin, Gary Cunningham (a New Zealand cameraman working for Channel Seven - Melbourne) one of the five newsman killed at Balibo.
As the film crew was given complete access to the key historical locations, such as the small Balibo fortress, it added to the film's macabre and tragic realism. Those who have been to East Timor tell me that the 1975 East Timorese village lifestyle depicted in the movie is much the same as it is now. Equally major Dili locations like Hotel Turismo (where the Balibo Five and Roger East stayed) are still there relatively unchanged. The little girl in the film whose father managed the hotel was in the most moving, horrifying part of the film (for me anyway). She saw what no child should ever see - a recurring problem in East Timor's recent, very sad, history.
Below are just a few photos from the night:
Pauline Cleary and Judith O'Farrell counting the generous proceeds. Thanks Pauline for doing a great job organising the financial side.
Some of the 270 who attended on the nightSome Background and Historical Context
The story is told through the eyes of war correspondent Roger East (Anthony LaPaglia of Lantana fame) and a young East Timorese Minister ("Secretary") for Information, Jose Ramos-Horta (played by Oscar Isaac, a Guatemalan actor). The two travelled to East Timor to investigate the murders of the "Balibo Five". Jose Ramos-Horta has since become President of East Timor. Although Ramos-Horta had to leave Dili in 1975 three days before the invasion of the city (to represent East Timor internationally) the film clearly provided an opportunity to indicate that he risked his life earlier on. A trailer for the film is here.
The screenplay was written by David Williamson who earlier wrote screenplays for Gallipoli (brilliant) and Emerald City among other memorable films as well as writing The Club and Don's Party. It is Directed by Robert Connolly who says it's an honour to hold the film's premiere in his home town of Melbourne. "It's also an important opportunity to celebrate the resilience of the East Timorese in seeking independence," he said. "And the important role played here in Victoria by the families of the Balibo Five who championed the East Timorese cause over so many years."
History - Balibo is set during Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor. Balibo's location is indicated by the green arrow on the map here. As Balibo is near the main road between West Timor and Dili and was the site of a small East Timorese army camp Balibo was a key initial invasion point for the Indonesians.
Knowing that an invasion through Balibo was likely the "Balibo Five" journalists positioned themselves in the town to record the action. As journalists they hoped to write and film the first reports of the land invasion but, naturally, they didn't expect to be killed.
It is difficult to place the death of the five journalists alongside the more than one hundred thousand East Timorese who died during the Indonesian invasion and occupation. With such crimes against humanity recognisable faces, family ties, camera footage, race and nationality are all important and lead to differing degrees of attention.
The deaths of the five journalists was never in vain. It alerted many outside East Timor to the violence Indonesia had wrought in 1975 and Indonesia's continuing violence up to and including 1999.
It was not until 2007 that NSW deputy coroner Dorelle Pinch found the Balibo Five were deliberately killed by Indonesian troops to cover up the invasion (rather than "liberation") of East Timor. This was on the basis of evidence from witnesses and intercepts of Indonesian Army radio conversations - records long kept from the Australian public. It is notable that this murder of civilians by an invading army was handled in Australia at a relatively low NSW state level - no Royal Commission. No action by the Australian Federal Government was taken through the years. It has been recently announced that the Australian Federal Police will conduct an inquiry - but little is expected as it is a long time after the event (34 years) and one Indonesian commander at Balibo is considered untouchable as he later became a minister in the Indonesian government.
-
Since 1999 (from the INTERFET operation onwards) the Federal Government's performance in East Timor has dramatically improved particularly in aid and peacekeeping. Another improvement is the change in Indonesia from military dictatorship (opposed to East Timorese independence) to a centrist democracy that has a healthy relationship with East Timor.
Balibo the Movie was made on a very tight budget so none of the theme music seemed especially memorable. Perhaps Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings - which could be called the Balibo Requiem is appropriate to remember, the Five, Roger East and the more than one hundred thousand East Timorese all killed without mercy by the sons of Java.
by Pete
No comments:
Post a Comment