Over the past sixteen years, documentarian Tom Zubrycki has created a number of award-winning films about Australia's political, cultural and social life. With Billal, Zubrycki examines the irreversible effects of a single racial incident.
When Zubrycki began this film he thought he was making a general documentary about Australian teens, including quiet Lebanese immigrant Billal Eter. But then an event occurred that altered the direction of the film.
In 1994, at a housing estate, a fight broke out between two neighboring families, one Lebanese, the other Anlgo-Australian. The next day, Linck Beswick, a friend of the Anglo-Australian family, ran over sixteen-year-old Billal as he was crossing in front of his home Billal as he was crossing the road in front of is home. Billal was left in a coma, and when he woke he had sustained critical brain damage. Zubricki spent fifteen months following Billal's slow recovery, the event's devastating effects on his family, and the trial of Linc Beswick, who maintains it was an accident. The result is a complex, political and incredibly poignant documentary.
1996, 16mm, Color 89 minutes
Associate Producer: Alissar Gazal, Ray Thomas
Cinematographer: Joel Peterson
Editor: Ray Thomas
Music: Jan Preston
 |
 |