Abdul & José
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Abdul & José |
| Country of production | East Timor , Australia |
| original language | Tetum , Bahasa Indonesia |
| Publishing year | 2017 |
| length | 52 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Luigi Acquisto and Lurdes Pires |
| production | Bety Reis , Fair Trade Films, Dili Film Works |
Abdul & José is an Australian - East Timorese film documentary that deals with the children abducted during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor (1975-1999). It is the first documentary produced by East Timorese.
action
Eight-year-old José and his family fled the Indonesian invaders to Mount Matebian in 1978 . When a plane bombed the refugee camp and killed 22 members of José's family, José continued to run into the mountains. He follows an Indonesian military unit. He and other boys are forced to work as servants by the soldiers. In 1979 the children are shipped to Indonesia. 35 years later he is called Abdul Rahman, is married and has children of his own in Indonesia. He is considered dead and buried by his Timorese family. When he visits his old home, José / Abdul is confronted with his memories and has to rebuild his life.
background
Around 4,000 children were brought to Indonesia from East Timor by Indonesian soldiers, officials and religious organizations during the 24 years of occupation, mostly to help them. Often promises were made to parents for a good education for their children. Other children were kept as slaves by the soldiers who snatched them from their parents or whose parents had killed them. According to a secret military document, Indonesian soldiers were supposed to support the transfer of children to Indonesia to spread Islam in East Timor. Many children went to strict Muslim schools and were forcibly converted. The kidnapping was never an official state policy, but a year after the invasion, President Suharto , for example, had taken 23 East Timorese children into his residence in Jakarta . They became an East Timorese branch of the Suharto family. Since most of them were only two or three years old, their families are difficult to find in East Timor today. Numerous children have simply disappeared.
reception
The film was televised in over ten countries and screened at festivals in Australia, New Zealand , Portugal , Brazil , Bangladesh , India , Indonesia , Taiwan and Japan . At the Festival International du Film Documentaire Océanien (FIFO) 2018 in Tahiti , Abdul & José received the special prize of the jury. The film is known as the "birth certificate" of the East Timorese documentary.
production
The producer Bety Reis is known in East Timor for her work with the theater group Bibi Bulak . Dili Film Works also produced A Guerra da Beatriz (2013), the first East Timorese feature film to be co-directed by Reis. Part of the funding was provided by the Community of Portuguese- Speaking Countries (CPLP).
Web links
- Abdul & José in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Trailer for the film
- Brief introduction of the directors (English, Bahasa Indonesia)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Fifo Tahiti: Abdul & José , accessed on August 1, 2018.
- ↑ a b c Télérama: Fifo 2018: avec “Abdul & José”, le Timor découvre le documentaire , accessed on February 8, 2018.
- ↑ IMDb: José & Abdul , accessed on July 11, 2012.
- ↑ Kate Lamb: East Timor's stolen children , Global Post, July 8, 2012 , accessed July 11, 2012.
- ↑ MIFF: International Competition , accessed on August 1, 2018.
- ^ Fifo Tahiti , accessed August 1, 2018.