Robert Connolly

Robert Connolly (born 1967) is an Australian film director, producer and screenwriter based in Melbourne, Victoria.[1]

Robert Connolly
Connolly in 2012
Born	1967 (age 53–54) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation	Film director, producer, screenwriter

Connolly is best known as the director and writer of the feature films Balibo, Three Dollars and The Bank, and the producer of the high-profile Australian films Romulus, My Father and The Boys.

Career

Connolly's first feature film as producer, The Boys, had its world premiere in Competition at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1998. It was nominated for 13 AFI Awards including Best Film, and won awards for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. In 1998, Connolly was named by Variety as one of the 10 best emerging producers in the world.[2]

Three Dollars, The Bank and The Boys have a strong political agenda and have been released in Australia as a DVD box set along with the documentary The Political Arena exploring the social and political strands of the films.[3]

In 2007 Connolly and Arenafilm's John Maynard together produced the period immigration drama Romulus, My Father, directed by Richard Roxburgh (also an Australian actor), starring Eric Bana and Franka Potente. The film won four Australian Film Institute Awards (AFI) including Best Film, and Connolly has also garnered AFI Awards for writing The Bank and Three Dollars.

In 2008, Connolly published a white paper outlining his views on all that could be improved about the Australian film industry.[4]

In 2009, Connolly directed Balibo, which he co-wrote with David Williamson. The film examines the politically fraught deaths of Australian-based journalists the Balibo Five and Roger East during the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in 1975. John Maynard produced the film, which starred Anthony LaPaglia in the lead role of East. Balibo was the first feature to be shot in East Timor.[1]

Indonesia continues to maintain that the Balibo Five died accidentally in crossfire as its troops battled East Timorese Fretilin rebels, a version of events accepted by successive Australian governments. But the film depicts the young journalists, who were working for Australian TV networks and presumed their nationality afforded them protection, being slaughtered on the orders of Indonesian military chiefs to prevent news of the invasion reaching the world.[5]

Connolly refuses to apologize for his film's hardline stance, stating that an Australian coroner found in 2007 that the journalists were executed as they tried to surrender to Indonesian forces. "It's quite clear the journalists were murdered," Connolly said. "The current Indonesian and Australian (Government) point of view that they were killed in crossfire is quite frankly absurd. I'd imagine the film will be confronting because it represents something contrary to the official view."[6]

Connolly is Melbourne based, having relocated to set up the Arenafilm Melbourne office in late 2006.[3] He has been definitive about his political approach to filmmaking, saying "Without a doubt, in recent times, the political agenda of the work is what drives us. We feel a responsibility to use cinema to put a blow torch to contemporary Australia and contribute to some discussion or debate about where we're headed. That's what I find most rewarding about it."[2]

Connolly has screened his films at over 30 international film festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival and San Sebastian Film Festival. He received a Centenary Medal for services to the Australian Film Industry in 2001.[7]

Connolly has been appointed to the new board of Screen Australia.[8]

Connolly also worked and influenced the development of the game Warco that could be used to train journalists to work and report in war torn regions.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Writer	Notes
1995	Roses Are Red				Short film
	All Men Are Liars				associate producer Cinequest Film Festival – Best First Feature tied with Le secret de Jérôme Nominated — Cinequest Film Festival Maverick Spirit Award Nominated — AACTA Award for Best Film Nominated — AACTA Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated — AACTA Award for Best Production Design Nominated — AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
1997	Rust Bucket				Short film
1998	The Boys				FCCA Award for Best Film Nominated — AACTA Award for Best Film
2000	Better Than Sex				consultant
	The Monkey's Mask
2001	The Bank				AACTA Award for Best Original Screenplay Newport Beach Film Festival Jury Award for Best Director Newport Beach Film Festival Jury Award for Best Screenplay Palm Springs International Film Festival - Best Director Award Portland International Film Festival - Audience Award Nominated — AACTA Award for Best Direction Nominated — BAFICI Award for Best Film Nominated — FCCA Award for Best Director Nominated — FCCA Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated — Inside Film Award for Best Direction Nominated — Inside Film Award for Best Script
2002	New Skin				consultant producer
2005	Three Dollars				AACTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Montreal World Film Festival - Special Mention Montreal World Film Festival - Grand Prix des Amériques Nominated — FCCA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
2007	Romulus, My Father				Also second unit director AACTA Award for Best Film Nominated — FCCA Award for Best Film
	West				consulting producer
2009	Lucky Country				executive producer
	Balibo				AACTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay ADG Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film São Paulo International Film Festival - Audience Award for Best Foreign Feature Film Nominated — AACTA Award for Best Direction Nominated — FCCA Award for Best Director Nominated — FCCA Award for Best Screenplay Nominated — Inside Film Award for Best Feature Film
2013	These Final Hours				executive producer
	The Turning				Segment: "Aquifer" Nominated — AACTA Award for Best Film Nominated — AACTA Award for Best Direction Nominated — AFCA Award for Best Film Nominated — Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Film
	The Boy Castaways				executive producer
2015	Paper Planes				AACTA Award for Best Original Screenplay FCCA Award for Best Children's Film Jerusalem Film Festival - Cinematheque Young Critics Club Award for Best Children's Film Nominated — AACTA Award for Best Film Nominated — AACTA People's Choice Award for Favourite Australian Film Nominated — ADG Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film Nominated — AWGIE Award for Best Writing in a Feature Film - Original Nominated — Berlin International Film Festival - Crystal Bear Nominated — FCCA Award for Best Film Nominated — FCCA Award for Best Script/Screenplay Nominated — Seattle International Film Festival - Films4Families Youth Jury Award
	These Final Hours				Short film executive producer
	Spear				executive producer
2016	Chasing Asylum				Documentary executive producer
2017	Guilty				post-production Documentary executive producer
2021	The Dry

Television

Year	Title	Creator	Director	Producer	Executive producer	Writer	Notes
2010	Rush						1 episode: Series 3 Episode 18
2011	The Slap						2 episodes
2012	Underground: The Julian Assange Story						Television film AWGIE Award for Best Telemovie Adaptation
2015	Gallipoli						Miniseries
2016	Barracuda
2017	The Warriors
2018	Deep State						4 episodes

References

1. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940728.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
2. http://aususmagazine.com/robert_connolly.htm
3. http://www.arenafilm.com.au/aboutconnolly.html
4. http://csb.aftrs.edu.au/index.cfm?objectid=344635DD-145E-3FE8-825D3DD12DFE9563
5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8166417.stm
6. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/22/2633213.htm
7. http://www.metroscreen.org.au/_blog/Podcasts_Vodcasts/post/Robert_Connolly_in_Conversation_with_Andrew_Urban/
8. http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/about_us/Board-And-Management.as

External links

• Robert Connolly at IMDb
• Interview, August 2009