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Balibo wins big at the Screen Music Awards
An East-Timorese born composer has taken out one of the big prizes for a song he wrote for Robert Connolly’s film, Balibo.
"I woke up at three o'clock in the morning with the tune, melody and lyrics in my head," Ego Lemos told Filmink, after winning the Best Original Song Composed for the Screen for the title-track ‘Balibo'. "I turned my light on, got my guitar and my band and by ten o'clock in the morning I'd finished - I felt relieved."
The 2009 Screen Music Awards were presented on Monday night at a glamorous evening held at Sydney's City Recital Hall. Hosted by two of the Chaser boys, this event is unique, being the only one of its kind to recognise the efforts of many often-anonymous Australian screen composers.
"When I wrote the song, I didn't have any expectation to win the award - I was very happy just being nominated and now I've won, I'm so, so happy," said Lemos, who describes his song as looking at the positives in a very sad story.
In writing the song Lemos said he tried to think as if it was him -" leaving my family, kids, wife to go and do my job, to tell the truth and then my blood is spilled and my body goes cold," he said. "I used that feeling to write the song."
Also for Balibo, world-renowned composer Lisa Gerrard received the coveted Best Feature Film Score award.
The award for Best Soundtrack went to multiple Screen Music Award winner Cezary Skubiszewski for his work on the Gillian Armstrong feature film Death Defying Acts. Filmed mainly in Edinburgh it starred Catherine Zeta Jones, and Guy Pearce as magician Harry Houdini.
The very prestigious International Achievement Award was presented to Sydney composer Guy Gross for his stellar achievements in screen composition abroad. After being nominated for a BAFTA in 1994 for The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, he has written scores for many other feature films, documentaries, TV dramas and short films including a Tropfest film festival winner.
The awards, presented by APRA and the AGSC were given out by many special guest presenters such as Balibo-director Robert Connolly, Jonathan Biggins, Julia Zemiro and Peter Garrett. The nominated compositions were performed by a live ensemble.
Picture caption: Ego Lemos with Balibo director Robert Connolly.