List of 2009 films based on actual events

This is a list of films and miniseries that are based on actual events. All films on this list are from American production unless indicated otherwise.

2009 3 Acts of Murder (2009) – Australian crime drama television film based on the true-life story of how author Arthur Upfield inadvertently inspired The Murchison Murders 12 Paces Without a Head (German: Zwölf Meter ohne Kopf) (2009) – German historical adventure film centering on the German folk hero Klaus Störtebeker, who was a pirate at the time 12 Winter (German: Zwölf Winter) (2009) – German crime drama television film based on the true story of two bank robbers who robbed a series of small banks throughout Germany and remained at large for 12 years before they were captured in August 2002 99 (2009) – Indian Hindi-language crime comedy film set against the 1999 cricket controversies 1066 The Battle for Middle Earth (2009) – British historical drama miniseries re-imagining the story of this decisive year of the Norman conquest of England, not from the saddles of kings and conquerors, but through the eyes of ordinary people caught up in its events A Model Daughter: The Killing of Caroline Byrne (2009) – Australian mystery drama television film based on alleged events surrounding the death of Caroline Byrne on 7 June 1995 A Short Stay in Switzerland (2009) – British medical drama television film inspired by the true story of Dr Anne Turner, who took her own life in a Zurich clinic, having developed the incurable neurodegenerative disease progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) Accident on Hill Road (Hindi: हिल रोड पर दुर्घटना) (2009) – Indian Hindi-language crime drama film based on the true story of Chante Mallard and her murder of Gregory Glenn Biggs Agora (Spanish: Ágora) (2009) – Spanish historical drama film about Hypatia, a mathematician, philosopher and astronomer in late 4th-century Roman Egypt, who investigated the flaws of the geocentric Ptolemaic system and the heliocentric model that challenges it Amelia (2009) – American-Canadian biographical drama film about the life of Amelia Earhart An Englishman in New York (2009) – British biographical film chronicling the years gay English writer Quentin Crisp spent in New York City April Showers (2009) – crime drama film based on the Columbine High School shootings The Army of Crime (French: L'Armée du crime) (2009) – French war drama film dealing with the development of the Manouchian Group, a 23-member resistance unit led by an Armenian exile, Missak Manouchian The Assailant (Portuguese: Besouro) (2009) – Brazilian action drama film about Besouro Mangangá, a Brazilian Capoeirista from the early 1920s, to whom were attributed some heroic and legendary deeds The Athlete (Amharic: እትሌቱ) (2009) – Ethiopian biographical sport drama film depicting a portrait of the marathon runner from Ethiopia, Abebe BikilaAboneh Ashagrie. 2013. The Athlete: a movie about the Ethiopian barefooted Olympic champion. Journal of African Cultural Studies Vol. 25, No. 1, 119–121. Balibo (2009) – Australian-East Timorese war drama film following the story of the Balibo Five, a group of journalists who were captured and killed while reporting on activities just prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor of 1975 Barbarossa (2009) – Italian historical drama film concerned with the struggle of the Lombard League, which struggled to maintain independence from the Holy Roman Empire, led by the legendary Guelph warrior Alberto da Giussano Berdella (2009) – crime horror film based on the crimes of Robert Berdella, an American serial killer who raped, tortured, and murdered at least six men in Kansas City, Missouri during the 1980s Berlin 36 (2009) – German historical sport drama film telling the fate of Jewish track and field athlete Gretel Bergmann in the 1936 Summer Olympics Best: His Mother's Son (2009) – British biographical comedy television film chronicling the life of the late footballer George Best's mother, Ann, and her battles against alcoholism that would ultimately lead to her death at the age of 54 The Blind Side (2009) – biographical sport drama film telling the story of Michael Oher, a football offensive lineman who overcame an impoverished upbringing to play in the National Football League (NFL) with the help of Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy Bodyguards and Assassins (Cantonese: 十月圍城) (2009) – Hong Kong historical action film about Sun Yat-sen making a secret trip to British-ruled Hong Kong to discuss plans with fellow revolutionaries to start a revolution to overthrow the Qing Empire and establish a republic in ChinaBodyguards and Assassins at HKMDB Bonded Parallels (Armenian: Խճճված զուգահեռներ) (2009) – Armenian historical war film influenced by the true story of an Armenian soldier during World War II in Norway The Boys Are Back (2009) – Australian-British drama film based on the 2000 book, The Boys Are Back in Town, by Simon Carr, about a sports writer who becomes a single parent in tragic circumstances Bright Star (2009) – British-Australian-French biographical romantic drama film based on the last three years of the life of poet John Keats and his romantic relationship with Fanny Brawne Broken Promise (Slovak: Nedodržaný sľub) (2009) – Slovak-Czech-American war drama film based on the true story of Jewish boy, and talented soccer player, Martin, who has to make risky lifetime decisions to survive in World War II when he sees his family is taken to Poland one by one The Canadiens, Forever (French: Pour toujours, les Canadiens!) (2009) – Canadian French-language historical sport drama film about the Montreal Canadiens centennial celebrationsCinoche.com: Pour toujours, les Canadiens! à l'affiche en décembre 2009 Carol I (2009) – Romanian historical drama film depicting the last days of the first Romanian king, Carol I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, and the tough decisions he had to make in the summer of 1914 to please both Romanian Parliament and his relatives from the German Empire City of Life and Death (Mandarin: 南京！南京) (2009) – Chinese historical war drama film dealing with the Battle of Nanjing and the following massacre committed by the Japanese army during the Second Sino-Japanese War Coco Before Chanel (French: Coco avant Chanel) (2009) – French-Belgian biographical drama film detailing the early life of French fashion designer Coco Chanel Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009) – French romantic drama film tracing a rumoured affair between Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky in Paris in 1920, the year that Chanel No. 5 was created The Consul of Sodom (Spanish: El cónsul de Sodoma) (2009) – Spanish biographical drama film about the Catalan poet Jaime Gil de Biedma The Countess (2009) – French-German historical crime thriller film based on the life of the notorious Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (2009) – American-Canadian-Polish biographical war drama television film focusing on Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker who smuggled approximately 2,500 Jewish children to safety during World War II Creation (2009) – British biographical drama film about Charles Darwin's relationship with his wife Emma and his memory of their eldest daughter Annie, as he struggles to write On the Origin of Species The Damned United (2009) – British-American sport drama film based on David Peace's interpretation of Brian Clough's ill-fated tenure as football manager of Leeds United in 1974 Deadliest Sea (2009) – Canadian biographical drama television film about the crew of the Kodiak, Alaska-based scallop fishing vessel St. Christopher Desert Flower (2009) – German biographical film based on the Somali-born model Waris Dirie's autobiography of the same name The Diary of Anne Frank (2009) – British biographical miniseries based on The Diary of a Young Girl originally written by Anne Frank from 1942 to 1944 Don't Burn (Vietnamese: Đừng Đốt) (2009) – Vietnamese biographical drama film based on the posthumously published diary of Đặng Thùy Trâm, a battlefield surgeon for the People's Army of Vietnam and Vietcong during the Vietnam War The Donner Party (2009) – historical drama film based on the true story of the Donner Party, an 1840s westward traveling group of settlers headed for California Endgame (2009) – British historical drama film depicting the final days of apartheid, focusing on secret talks held between the African National Congress and the members of the National Party in a country house in Somerset, EnglandCarnevale, Rob (5 March 2008). "Vantage Point – Pete Travis interview". IndieLondon. Retrieved on 17 April 2008. Enid (2009) – British biographical television film based on the life of children's writer Enid Blyton Everyman's War (2009) – biographical war drama film based on the true story of Don Smith's heroic experience at the Battle of the Bulge while with the 94th Infantry Farewell (French: L'affaire Farewell) (2009) – French spy thriller film loosely based on the actions of the high-ranking KGB official, Vladimir Vetrov Felicitas (2009) – Argentine romantic drama film about the life of Felicitas Guerrero de Álzaga Five Minutes of Heaven (2009) – Irish thriller drama film reconstructing the historical killing of 19-year-old Jim Griffin by 17-year-old Alistair Little in 1975Holmwood, Leigh (8 May 2008). "Nesbitt and Neeson set for Ulster drama". guardian.co.uk (Guardian News and Media). Retrieved on 8 May 2008. Flordelis (Portuguese: Flordelis: Basta uma Palavra para Mudar) (2009) – Brazilian biographical drama film based on the life of gospel singer and politician Flordelis Formosa Betrayed (2009) – political thriller film inspired by two actual events, one surrounding the death of Professor Chen Wen-chen of Carnegie Mellon University in 1981, and the other the 1984 assassination of journalist Henry Liu in California by Chen Chi-li and his fellow Bamboo Union members Fort Apache Napoli (Italian: Fortapàsc) (2009) – Italian biographical drama film about the fight against the Camorra and subsequent assassination of journalist Giancarlo Siani The Founding of a Republic (Mandarin: 建國大業) (2009) – Chinese historical drama film portraying the final years of the Chinese Communist Revolution that followed the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War The Front Line (Italian: La prima linea) (2009) – Italian crime drama film based on the memoirs of the Prima Linea terrorist Sergio Segio Generał Nil (2009) – Polish historical war film based on the life of general Emil August Fieldorf The General: The Gibraltar Assassination (Polish: Generał. Zamach na Gibraltarze) (2009) – Polish historical drama film based on the last days of General Władysław Sikorski during World War II Georgia O'Keeffe (2009) – biographical drama television film about noted American painter Georgia O'Keeffe and her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz Get Low (2009) – mystery drama film loosely based on a true story that happened in Roane County, Tennessee, in 1938 about a real person named Felix Bushaloo "Uncle Bush" Breazeale Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (2009) – biographical drama television film based on the autobiography of neurosurgeon (and later politician) Ben Carson The Girl on the Train (French: La fille du RER) (2009) – French drama film about an aimless girl who lies about being the victim of a hate crime inspired by the story of Marie Leonie Leblanc, a woman in her twenties, who walked into a police station in Paris on 9 July 2004 claiming she had been the victim of an antisemitic attack on a suburban RER trainSight & Sound, June 2010. Interview with Téchiné about The Girl on the Train, p.8 Goemon (Japanese: 五右衛門) (2009) – Japanese historical drama film loosely based on the story of Ishikawa Goemon, a legendary outlaw hero who stole valuables from the rich and gave them to the poor