POLITICAL thriller BALIBO is banned in East Timor but doing well on the black market there, says film director Robert Connolly.
“Even though I’m making no profit, I’m pretty happy about it,” he says.
The controversial film tells the story of five journalists – Wellington’s Garry Cunningham, two Aussies and two Brits – who risked their lives to expose the injustice of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in 1975.
Somewhat ironically, it has been their deaths which, for the past 30 years, have been passed off by the Indonesian and Australian government as “war crimes” leaving the truth, hushed up, until now.
The reaction to Connolly’s film has been mixed. While the Australian government has launched a full inquiry into the deaths of the men, the Indonesian government has condemned it as “fictitious” and banned the film from screening.
Connolly explains that there are plenty of reasons why this film is important for New Zealanders to view.
“Well firstly,” he says, “Garry Cunningham, one of the filmmakers on the trip, was a Kiwi. He was born in Wellington, he won awards for his coverage of the Wahine disaster and he died trying to uncover the truth. He’s a legend. I also think New Zealand, like Australia, shares a bond with East Timor.
“We’ve both accepted refugees and we’ve both, whether we’re ready to admit it or not, played our part in covering up the Balibo truth.”
Connolly also believes that the film is important because of the tale it tells about journalism. He says that although journalists died in Vietnam, the killing of those in Balibo, was the first time they’d actually been targeted.
“The Indonesian army knew perfectly well that the men were journalists, but that did not give them diplomatic immunity. Instead it set them up as targets, who could potentially unlock and expose the truth.
Thirty-four years on, that’s exactly what Connolly has set out to do.
“An Indonesian man came up to me after an illegal screening and told me that he’d been part of the militia and present that day at Balibo. He told me, ‘yes, we murdered the men and we did not want them speaking’. If that’s the only thing that comes out of this film, one admission of truth, then I’ve succeeded.”
Balibo screens at Penthouse and Lighthouse Cinemas.
Lucy Von Sturmer