Press release
For close to two years a group of young men, all inmates at a maximum-security prison in Melbourne, have been making a film that they hope will change lives.
Launched today at Port Phillip Prison, STORIES FROM THE INSIDE is a powerful documentary, made especially for secondary school students, filmed, edited and directed by the prisoners in the hope that, by telling their stories, they may stop other young people offending.
STORIES FROM THE INSIDE was initiated by charitable organisation Igniting Change and made in conjunction with the award-winning team at Shark Island Productions (Paul Kelly – Stories of Me, Polly and Me, The Oasis), who were given unprecedented access to the prison.
All the inmates involved are first time offenders aged between 18 and 25.
Highly motivated to tell their stories as a way of giving back to the community, they reveal the crimes that led them to being incarcerated, how easily they found themselves in prison, the choices and mistakes they made along the way, and the effects of their actions on themselves, their families and their victims. They discuss the harsh reality of prison life, the daily grind, the boredom, the depression, and their fears of rejection when they return to the outside world.
Amongst the gut-wrenching comments in the film, one young prisoner says: “There's not enough pieces of paper for me to write how sorry that I am, and I can't change it that it's happened. If I could go back I wouldn't have done it… It was a very stupid thing to do.”
Anne Hooker is a Youth Development Officer who works with the inmates. A veteran of the prison system, with 27 years’ experience working with offenders both in Community Corrections as a Parole Officer and a Manager, she understands better than most the reality of life behind bars.
"From the moment you are put into prison, everything about your life is controlled – when to eat, when to sleep, when to go to your cell, when to go to a program, when to go to work, when to go to a visit, when to go to outpatients. And you have no control whatsoever in relation to any of those things," she says.
This powerful film and associated resources are being donated as a freely accessible education resource to all secondary schools in Australia, thanks to generous support from Igniting Change, Shark Island Productions, The Caledonia Foundation, Virgin Unite and a number of other philanthropic foundations and individual donors.
Following the launch on October 11, STORIES FROM THE INSIDE will be available for streaming directly into classrooms at secondary schools across Australia via the film’s website, http://www.storiesfromtheinside.com.au.
A comprehensive teachers’ study guide – written by ATOM (Australian Teachers of Media) with input from Shark Island Productions, Igniting Change and Port Phillip Prison, together with a 14-minute film about the prison’s innovative Youth Unit will also be available, to accompany the 33-minute documentary.
Igniting Change Director Jane Tewson CBE says, “It is nearly ten years since I first met Anne Hooker and visited the Youth Unit at Port Phillip Prison. I still feel inspired every time I visit and just so proud to see this film give a voice to young men otherwise silenced, yet with such strong messages that need to be heard. Sir Richard Branson has accompanied me on several of these visits and shares my excitement that the inmates are doing something creative to try and prevent other young people from making the same mistakes they did.”
Shark Island’s creative team worked closely with the young men in the prison to assist them to make the film. Producer Ian Darling says, “Shark Island Productions is committed to making films that raise awareness and make a difference. By bringing our experience as filmmakers and participation in the education sector to this project, we hope to ensure that the film is made widely available to Australian school students and achieves the significant impact that it deserves. The film is a cautionary tale for young people everywhere.”
Upon previewing the film, Steve Kearney, Campus Principal at Caulfield Park Community School added, “I found the documentary real, powerful and disturbing. It clearly depicts how a random stupid act carried out in anger or through bad choices, can have massive negative consequences in a person’s life journey.”
For more information go to www.storiesfromtheinside.com.au.