Stories from the Inside (ATOM Study Guide)

Life in prison is the focus of Stories From the Inside, a documentary about a group of young inmates in a maximum security facility.

Made in conjunction with the award-winning team at Shark Island Productions, together with the charitable organisation Igniting Change, this is a documentary filmed, edited and directed by the prisoners inside the Youth Unit at Port Phillip Prison.

Bruce, Luke, Oscar, Darren, Zac and Karl are six young inmates serving sentences of up to six years. Taking us on their life's journey to where they now reside in jail, we will see how it is the inflexible insistence on conformity, the lack of privacy, the sense of rejection by family, friends and the world at large that are the heaviest burdens to bear. The disgust Bruce feels at the individuals he must interact with is another grimly striking feature; Luke is still bewildered, almost incredulous, that he has actually been locked up; Zac is the one who focuses intensely on the damage and grief he has caused his victims; Oscar feels trapped – all are regretful, horrified and contrite over the emotional damage they have caused their families and victims.

These young men have been motivated to tell their stories revealing the crimes that led to their imprisonment, the choices and mistakes they made along the way, 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.

Stories From the Inside can be streamed here.