About Us

Dili Film Works is Timor Leste’s leading producer of quality film and television programs.  Founded in 2010 it has gone onto produce the country’s first feature film and is now in production on three exciting new projects. The Stolen Child tells the story of Timor’s stolen generation, over 4000 children taken illegally to Indonesia during the war.  The Age of Living Dangerously is the groundbreaking story of the Balibó Five and the invasion of Portuguese Timor in 1975.

Timor Leste Telenovela (Working Title) is a 20 part 30 minute TV Series series focussing on human rights and democracy in Timor Leste.  This entertaining series for TVTL is being produced by Dili Film Works for Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR).  Funded by the European Union this is the most ambitious television project to be made in Timor Leste.

Bety Reis – Director/Producer

Bety, an actor and filmmaker, is the director of Dili Film Works. She started her acting career with renowned theatre group Bibi Bulak.  She worked as a casting consultant on the Australian feature film Balibó and a year later helped establish Dili Film Works, Timor Leste’s first film & television production company. She co-directed A Guerra da Beatriz (Beatriz’s War) and has produced a number of short films.  She is currently producing The Stolen Child, a feature length documentary that will be screened in nine Portuguese speaking countries including Brazil, Portugal, Angola and Mozambique to a potential audience of over 300 million people.  Bety is in pre-production on The Age of Living Dangerously an explosive cold case investigation into the 1975 murders of six Australian based journalists in Portuguese Timor, Roger East and the Balibó Five.

Lurdes Pires – Director/Producer

Lurdes Pires and her family fled East Timor in 1975 during the Indonesian invasion and settled in Darwin, Australia. For the next twenty-four years Lurdes fought for East Timor’s independence. In the 1975 she helped with the transmissions and monitoring of the resistance’s radio, Radio Maubere, which transmitted from Darwin to East Timor.  Lurdes returned to East Timor in 1999 to help with the historic referendum for independence. After the referendum she worked with UN peacekeepers as a liaison officer and interpreter and assisted the Serious Crimes Unit to investigate the crimes committed by militia and the Indonesian military in 1999.  She started work in the film and television industry in 2000 with Australian company FairTrade Films. She co-produced the landmark series for ABC Television, East Timor – Birth of a Nation, and in 2013 produced her country’s first feature film, Beatriz’s War.

Gaspar Sarmento – Producer

Gaspar is a founding member of Dili Film Works and is one of the countries most experienced filmmakers. Gaspar produced Bety Reis’ short documentary “Manu Futu” and has played a key role in many local and international productions including Dili Film Works/FairTrade Films “A Guerra da Beatriz,” Abracadabra Films documentary for SBS Television “Rosa’s Journey,” acclaimed feature film “Balibo,” and the Cordell Jigsaw produced documentary “Anatomy of a Massacre.” Gaspar is also a fine actor and played the role of the Indonesian commander in A Guerra da Beatriz.

Stella Zammataro & Luigi Acquisto

Stella and Luigi operate FairTrade Films in Australia.  They have a long association with Timor Leste and have made six films about the country since independence.  They have mentored Dili Film Works and are currently co-producing The Age of Living Dangerously.  Previous associations include Beatriz’s War and a series of short films, Dili Film Works: The First Collection.