Comments on: Balibo – a review

By: John Waddingham

John Waddingham — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:38:35 +0000

Not for publication:

Hi Kimberley

You don't know me but I knew your mum and dad and your two sisters many years ago. I worked with your dad on Timor matters in Melbourne in the late 1970s. After many years I saw him again in Melbourne about four years ago. I was shocked and saddened to learn of his very untimely death. Very belated condolences to you and your sisters.

The trigger for this contact: I am involved in a project to preserve archival records about East Timor political activity in Australia 1974-1999. In a small part of this work, I came across a once-off radio program your father did in 1977 and have included a short segment from that program in my blog post today (Chris's segment is early in the whole file).

http://timorarchives.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/e...

Just in case it might be of interest to you. Whole program available if you would like (and the story associated with it).

Best wishes to you and the girls.

John Waddingham (in Perth)

By: dora_d

dora_d — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:12:52 +0000

Hopefully the Ljubljana Film Festival will show it this year, it's awesome to be a volunteer there as you get to see as many free movies as you possibly can :)

By: Kimberley

Kimberley — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:27:11 +0000

Thanks Tracey for commenting – it did take a lot to put this together. hopefully once you see the film, it will have done it justice. I would love to hear your thoughts on it for sure! :)

By: Kimberley

Kimberley — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:26:10 +0000

Oh, Dora, good to see you! :)

Thankyou for sharing your perspective on it, I will have to look out for Bloody Sunday, as well as read more about Slovenia. I cannot say I'm too educated on the topic. (I will correct that!)

I'm sure Balibo will feature in international festivals; but it may take a while (as they do - it can take months or years, depending on how much of a buzz). I'll keep an eye out on the IMDb page for you :)

By: Kimberley

Kimberley — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:24:02 +0000

Thanks James for commenting – I can't entirely comment on the source material, and all the events and facts from all parties that were there. I could only do the best I could with what I know from my family association and judge the film as objectively as I could (though being a very subjective writer!) I hope that others that know little or nothing about East Timor, or the events from 1975 watch this, and are inspired to learn more.

By: Kimberley

Kimberley — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:20:54 +0000

Thanks Tim, for commenting. I do hope you get to see it. I tried to be as objective as I could, and honestly – I am certainly not patriotic when it comes to Australian film, and it takes a lot to keep my attention but this is a must watch while its at cinemas.

By: Kimberley

Kimberley — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:19:29 +0000

Thankyou – I look forward to your thoughts on it also! :)

By: Tracey

Tracey — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:04:56 +0000

This is an eloquently written and very moving review. Unfortunately I missed out on tickets to see Balibo at the local film festival, but I'm even more determined to see it on wider release after reading your thoughts. It sounds like an incredibly powerful film which simply must be watched.

By: dora_d

dora_d — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:16:33 +0000

As someone from another small country, who had to fight hard for its independence and which is still struggling to get on its two feet, I can also somehow relate although I only followed the events in East Timor when independence was declared and shortly before. If you'd like to see a similar film about what went on in Northern Ireland, I definitely recommend Bloody Sunday – I met the real person behind the main character and I found the portrayal of him in the movie also surprisingly accurate. I like to watch films about great people in seemingly forgotten places who are able to rise up and fight for the right to exist – just like us Slovenes.

Thank you for sharing this with us, especially because of your connection with the events. Do you think the film will be released outside Australia as well?

By: James Dunn

James Dunn — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:42:52 +0000

I found this a remarkable film, and though the script departs considerable ffrom the way events shaped, speaking as one who was in Dili closely following the dramatic events of the time, it captures the savagery and nature of the crime, the atmosphere in East Timor, and something of the brutality that accompanied the invasion of Dili, which took place some 7 weeks after Balibo, which was actaully the real beginning of the invasion of East Timor. The portrait of Jose Ramos Horta, with whom i worked closesly at the time, is not bad at all. I also found the character of Roger East, whom I got to know, to be remarkably accurate. For me it was an emotional experience. James Dunn