About the film

This documentary about the remarkable love story between human rights activist Kirsty Sword and political prisoner Xanana Gusmão proves that ordinary people truly can make a difference. Armed with nothing more than determination and a sense of justice, the two lovers struggled for many years for the independence of East Timor. While working in Jakarta for the Timorese resistance, Sword used the pseudonym Ruby Blade to smuggle video equipment, computers and audio cassettes to their leader Gusmão, who was serving a life sentence in the notorious Cipinang Jail. This was followed by an intense correspondence between the two that lasted many years. They exchanged letters, video messages, paintings, photographs and even bonsai trees, and grew ever closer to one another, falling in love without ever having met. Through archive material and accounts from friends, fellow combatants and Sword herself, the film explores not only their remarkable relationship but also the history of a decade of peaceful resistance that ultimately led to the first new democracy of this millennium.

Selected festivals and awards/ Wybrane festiwale i nagrody: 2012 – MFF Amsterdam / IDFA, 2013 – FF Praw Człowieka, Londyn / The Human Rights Watch FF, London