NFSA's Kodak/Atlab Cinema Collection: Stir

Stir (Stephen Wallace, 1980) raises important issues about violence in prisons and who engages in it, taking the Bathurst Gaol riot of 1974 as its narrative starting point. In this article, Ben Goldsmith links the film to its real-life parallels, and recounts the steps taken to ensure the film's authenticity. He also situates it in the context of the Australian film industry at the time, with particular relation to funding procedures, and offers a revealing account of the production processes.