PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF SWEDEN

In 2011, Swedish journalists Martin Schibbye (Gustaf Skarsgård) and Johan Persson (Matias Varela) risk everything when they illegally cross the border from Somalia into Ethiopia. After months of planning, they are finally on the right path to report on how oil corporations have brought the people of the Ogaden region to their knees – until they are shot and captured by the Ethiopian army.

Put on trial for international terrorism, they are sentenced to eleven years in prison. With fellow journalists, writers and politicians as their cellmates, they find themselves subjected to daily beatings, fierce repression, and disease-ridden conditions – a fight for survival where humanity becomes their most valuable weapon.

Commemorating this year’s World Press Freedom Day (May 3, 2022), this Canberra premiere screening will be preceded with a one-on-one, in-person conversation between Australian journalist Peter Greste and HE Henrik Cederin, Ambassador of Sweden to Australia and New Zealand. They will discuss the importance of freedom of speech and the issues faced by journalists in reporting from conflict areas.

The conversation will begin at 7 pm, prior to the film starting at 7:30 pm.