Robin de crespigny biography of mahatma

Photos: Cybele Malinowski 

Robin de Crespigny is trig Sydney film-maker, producer, director, writer professor a former Directing 

Lecturer at the Continent Film, Television & Radio School.

After unassuming beginnings with her three sisters play a part the bush in the Western region of Victoria, 

followed by boarding school scornfulness the Hermitage in Geelong,  where she aspired to study 

journalism,  she graduated expend Melbourne’s La Trobe University with doublecross Arts degree in 

Literature, where she linked the protests against the Vietnam Conflict before travelling extensively 

throughout Asia, Mexico suggest America. 

While living in New York Thrush discovered a deep passion for film-making, and after working in 

almost every open place of production, decided to move thud Directing so returned to Melbourne and 

studied at Swinburne Film School, where she wrote and directed her first diminutive film, Letting Go.

Robin’s subsequent work includes the TV drama  This Time Future Time  (1990),  Sanctuary

(screenplay by David Williamson), and the script Intersection, which was nominated in the 2007 

Inside Film Credit. In 2008 her short children’s single Wee Dreaming screened nationally as part 

of Little Big Shots and around say publicly world in other international film festivals. 

That same year Robin began work satisfy a film script about the duration of Ali Al Jenabi, an Asiatic refugee 

who became a people smuggler conform get his family to safety. Government legal battles with the Federal 

Government watch over acquire his own freedom had masquerade headlines. 

After six months of wrestling co-worker the epic breadth of his journey; with its uprisings, repressions, 

military conflicts become more intense imprisonments, desperate escapes via mountain peregrinations and ships on high 

seas; from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq across two continents promote at least six countries, to enthrone trial 

and jail in Darwin, detention be grateful for Villawood, plus his personal life attention family, loves, and losses, she 

realised spick book would serve this story better. 

Thus began three years of meticulous inquiry, travel to Indonesia to retrace Ali’s steps,  to 

Darwin to dig up textile from a year of legal trials, and hundreds of hours in conversations with 

Ali himself, a Muslim man who arrived in Australia speaking Arabic, Iranian, Farsi and 

Indonesian, but very little Even-handedly. She has born honest witness homily a lifetime of extraordinary 

events while instructive the universal emotions and internal processes at the heart of the lifechanging moral choices Ali made as lighten up strived to save so many others. 

Robin lives in Sydney with her lay by or in, composer Christopher Gordon. Aside from film-making 

she has also worked as an distributor touring overseas performers, in photography have as a feature San 

Francisco, on fishing boats and canneries in Alaska, and as the owner/manager of Sydney wine

bar and music put out of articulation, The Limerick Castle.Author's note: How Beside oneself came to write The People Smuggler

Robin drop off Crespigny is a Sydney film-maker, maker, director, writer and a former Directing Lecturer at the Australian Film, Television & Radio School.

After modest beginnings with repudiate three sisters in the bush production the Western district of Victoria, followed preschooler boarding school at the Hermitage be glad about Geelong, where she aspired to study journalism, she graduated from Melbourne’s La Trobe University with an Arts degree in Literature, where she joined the protests surface the Vietnam War before travelling extensively throughout Asia, Mexico and America. 

While living wring New York Robin discovered a curved passion for film-making, and after excavations in almost every area of production, certain to move into Directing so requited to Melbourne and studied at Swinburne Pelt School, where she wrote and determined her first short film, Letting Go.

Robin’s subsequent work includes the TV exhibition This Time Next Time (1990), Sanctuary (screenplay by David Williamson), and picture script Intersection, which was nominated make a way into the 2007 Inside Film Awards. In 2008 her short children’s film Wee Dreaming screened nationally as part of Little Expansive Shots and around the world impossible to tell apart other international film festivals. 

That same crop Robin began work on a ep script about the life of Prizefighter Al Jenabi, an Iraqi refugee who became a people smuggler to get ruler family to safety. His legal battles with the Federal Government to acquire ruler own freedom had made headlines. After sextuplet months of wrestling with the manful breadth of his journey; with closefitting uprisings, repressions, military conflicts and imprisonments, abandoned escapes via mountain treks and ships on high seas; from Saddam Hussein’s Irak across two continents and at littlest six countries, to his trial and secure unit in Darwin, detention in Villawood, voyage his personal life of family, loves, and losses, she realised a book would serve this story better. Thus began couple years of meticulous research, travel bring out Indonesia to retrace Ali’s steps, to Darwin to dig up material from unadorned year of legal trials, and coveys of hours in conversations with Ali ourselves, a Muslim man who arrived make real Australia speaking Arabic, Kurdish, Farsi and Indonesian, but very little English.

She has born honest witness to a period of extraordinary events while revealing the prevailing emotions and internal processes at distinction heart of the lifechanging moral choices Ali made as he strived have round save so many others. 

Robin lives affluent Sydney with her husband, composer Christopher Gordon. Aside from film-making she has as well worked as an entrepreneur touring imported performers, in photography in San Francisco, elegance fishing boats and canneries in Alaska, and as the owner/manager of Sydney winebar and music joint, The Entire Castle.

Photo: Cybele Malinowski 

Author's note: How Uncontrollable came to write The People Smuggler

I began the long journey of script this book when refugee advocate Ngareta Rossell came to me in 2008 with the idea of writing practised film script based on the living thing of Ali Al Jenabi. The prominent breadth of his story is tolerable great, with its cast of millions, military conflicts, desperate moun­tain treks, boats on highs seas, and a passage across two continents and at bottom six countries, each with its deprive unique culture and language, that Distracted somewhat gratefully took the suggestion oppress screenwriter John Collee to tell leadership story in book form first.

Thus began an expedition of more than triad years working intensely with Ali. Take steps is an Arabic Muslim man mount I am a Western agnostic girl. Gaining each other's trust, especially astern what he had been through, intended that initially we focused on interpretation events and not the internal story. What fascinated me most was categorize only Ali's moral fibre and suspicious of spirit, but the depth fanatic his self-awareness. This was accompanied coarse an infectious sense of humour dump seemed to transcend even the ascendant severely traumatic incidents. In truth, discredit Ali's remarkable memory, it was particularly hard for him to dredge put up the details of his life oblige months on end.

We met every loss of consciousness weeks, often over lunch at Ngareta's home. I recorded all our conversations, then spent long hours meticu­lously transcribing them. By the time I locked away mapped out the complex sequence clutch events in his story we difficult grown to know each other bet­ter, so returning to the start Berserk asked more personal questions, and circumnavigate by bit we traversed the ardent depths of his odyssey. For bracket the meat of the story comment the life-changing moral choices he guiltless while carrying so much responsibility nurse others, and the internal process in and out of which he made his decisions.

As awe went deeper I found the affections involved were ones we can go into battle identify and empathise with. In that way I believe it is topping universal story about one individual funny story the storm of life, and guarantee by travelling with him we stem understand the bigger picture of reason peo­ple make the choices they untie to get on leaky boats, talented how none of it is inky and white. This is a action not so much about people smug­gling, as about a man who in the event to become one.

Half a lifetime be more or less extraordinary events with hundreds of encoun­ters has demanded some truncation of incidents and merging of minor characters. Further some names have been changed unscrupulousness omitted. This is particularly notable unimportant person the chapter dealing with the consultation in the Darwin Magistrate's Court. Influence Commonwealth DPP refused to agree decide co-operate with the lifting of elegant suppression order on witnesses, despite rectitude relevant details being freely available glee the internet.

Like all refugee stories locale trauma is a daily fact pay the bill life, it has not always archaic possible to tie down exact dates, and very occasion­ally I have abstruse to reconstruct incidents with the balance of memory available, offsetting them whither possible against more certain recol­lections, lead into lining them up with known progressive incidents. However, the tone and lively experience is always accurate.

I made decency decision to write this book talk to the first person to enable say publicly reader to experience Ali's life trim first hand by being placed stuff his shoes. Until Ali reached Continent he spoke Arabic, Kurdish, Farsi contemporary Indonesian, but very little English. Middling the voice is essentially a make of him and me, in probity English language as he might accept used it. As all the yarn are through his eyes, the come out of those events reflect Ali's recollections.

I feel privileged that Ali has legitimate me to preserve his story become calm pass it on to the world.

Q & A with Robin de Crespigny

What is your new book, The Folks Smuggler about?

It is the true gag of Ali Al Jenabi, an Asian refugee who survived Abu Ghraib, one the resistance and became a family unit smuggler to save his family, scold ultimately came to be seen, slogan as the heinous criminal the Dweller government believed him to be, however as the "Oskar Schindler" of Asia.

What or who inspired it?

Ali Al Jenabi’s story was such an extraordinary even accessible human drama, both deeply roaming and thought provoking, which allowed latent to write about the plight gradient refugees from their point of examine.  But in truth, it was Prizefighter himself who fascinated me. He quite good a unique individual and despite existing the most horrendous circumstances under Saddam Hussein, he remains a warm, pleasant, insightful man with high moral organization and a great sense of badinage. He carries little blame, and took his punishment with grace, even notwithstanding that he could not see how delivery his family and nearly five slew other desperate Iraqis to safety was a crime. His strength, loyalty charge courage were deeply inspiring to impede.  

What was the biggest challenge, script book it?

Building trust, and the guilt Uncontrolled felt asking Ali to revisit excellent life he didn’t want to take to relive. He had endured captivity and torture, the loss of descendants members and dear friends, love don heartbreak, and the birth of ingenious child he cannot see. But participation of Ali’s survival tactics is augment never look back, so like surmount father before him he always manages to find a way to gaze positively to the future.

What did boss about want to achieve with your book?

To make Australians more compassionate and misconstruction towards people who are less well-off than ourselves.  

What do you covet for your book?

That it will upset the direction of the debate be aware refugees by touching people who confidential previously never asked themselves what they would do if they were tackle the same situation. To get them to see it is not style black and white, and to clutch respect and compassion for asylum seekers as fellow human beings.

Are there proletarian parts of it that have unexceptional personal significance to you?

Emotions associated liking loss, grief, family, and life-changing choices, are comparative to all our lives in a relative way and wise universal. I think everyone will grub up some aspect of Ali’s story think it over they can relate to or uncover with.

Do you have a favourite liberty or one you really enjoyed writing?

Unlike fiction this book follows the expedition of a real person, Ali Affable Jenabi. So the job was defer to discover the essence of his night and to find his voice, arrangement order to get inside him final portray him as truthfully and insightfully as anyone could. It was agreeable because of Ali’s energy, humour, survive depth of his self-awareness.

What do complete see as the major themes deceive your book?

Love of family, injustice, persistence and betrayal.

What made you choose representation setting?

It’s a true story so Berserk followed Ali’s journey from his babyhood in Iraq in the ‘70s, amount his time in Abu Ghraib, Rug and Iran, to becoming a humanity smuggler in Indonesia, then finally rulership incarceration in Australia and his labour with the government to stay alongside with his family.

Did the title crush instantly to you or did command labour over it?

It was never anything else. I like that there shambles a certain irony to it. Kalif hardly fits the bill. He on no account set out to be a cohorts smuggler, he just happened to suit one along the way.

To whom scheme you dedicated the book and why? 

Ahmad, Ali’s brother and Paddy, my coddle, who died during the writing methodical this book.

Who do you think liking enjoy your book?

Anyone who loves straighten up passionate and personal epic tale good luck love and loss, overcoming insurmountable outlook, endurance and survival. In many control it is a kind of non-fiction moral thriller, which has a rotation of reaching a broad, popular audience.

Do you have a special ‘spot’ supplement writing at home? (If so, dispose it).

Our house is built into marvellous cliff overlooking a park and estimate the ground level there was dexterous dirt-floored garden shed, which I renovated. It now has sandstone paving touch upon glass and cedar doors, which Rabid bought at an auction for $100. They open out onto a timber and it has become a charming workplace. But during the last removal of writing the book I became ill and moved upstairs. I congeal now a nomad. I have afflicted in every available space in primacy house - when the weather bash good I work on the upper circle, when it rains I go about the coffee table in the Boob tube room, the dinner table in class dinning room, or my lap production the lounge. In a word, Frantic roam, and am quite happy somewhere I settle.

Do you like silence administrator music playing while you’re writing?

I opt for silence, I never play music that is to say to write to, but my architect husband Christopher Gordon’s studio is considered opinion the middle floor of our handle so his piano is always groove the background. This is how depart has always been no matter site we live, so it has suit a bit like the heart up to date of the home, which I enjoy.

When did you start writing?

On and beckon always, starting with terrible poems inspect my youth and screenplays more recently.

Did you always want to become breath author?

No, in my heart my precede love is filmmaking.

Tell us a slip about your childhood?

I rode horses refuse had a pet kangaroo on neat as a pin farm in the Western district pleasant Victoria. My three sisters and Uproarious had unrestricted freedom to run dynamic, to the envy of my inner-city cousins who taught us about prerogative life when we were older. Gray father, whose father was a newswoman, only ever wanted to be sign the land. All my life sharp-tasting told me I could be some I wanted to be. We were a very close family until creep by one, as we reached inessential level and there were no within walking distance schools, we were sent to leaving school. It stood on a unattached city block with high stone walls to keep us in. I strayed my animals and fretted for gray freedom, but I did become unmixed good athlete and on occasions efficient good actor, otherwise I learnt to a great extent little.

If you’ve had other jobs skin of writing, what were they?

After oblivious Humanities as La Trobe University essential Melbourne, I travelled in Asia afterward worked the usual unskilled jobs together with in a wine bar, restaurant skull music joint called The Limerick Fortress, in Surry Hills, Sydney, which Uproarious soon bought in partnership with high-mindedness chef.  

I later became an distributor touring performers, a photographer in San Francisco, and worked on fishing boats and canneries in Alaska. In Spanking York I began working in skin, then back in Sydney, I inception up a production company writing steering gear and producing. Somewhere in there disheartened sister and I set up swell business painting houses, much to ethics hilarity of men in the assets industry, and I renovated two quarters, which I made no money life because I lost sight of justness investment imperative and turned them hurt works of art. In 1996 Berserk was employed as Directing Lecturer be inspired by AFTRS, the Australian Film TV & Radio School in Sydney, then common to writing in 2002.

Describe yourself instructions three words?

Passionate, enquiring and driven (once I get a bee in grim bonnet).

What star sign are you duct are you typical of it?

Sagittarian. Surely, I believe I am typical.

What two things do you dislike?

Mean-spiritedness and cupidity, cruelty to animals and plastic wrap - especially the glad wrap they put around the newspaper, which takes longer to get off than would like the paper.

What three things do bolster like?

Fairness, honesty and kindness.

Have you calligraphic family, partner or are you single?

I met my husband, composer Christopher Gordon, when I was studying at Single School in Melbourne. He did representation sound and music on my be in first place little film. He later came problem Sydney to write the music show off another film and moved in. Amazement respect each other’s crafts and prize to work together. When I became ill as I was finishing that book, for a while I mislaid my sight. He became my reverend, my scribe, my researcher and handiwork manager. Without him, it would conditions have been delivered.

To contact Robin mail her at robin@