Stir (1980)

Interesting facts

• Filmed in: Australia
• Awards: 0 · Nominations: 9

Stir is a 1980 Australian prison drama film directed by Stephen Wallace in his feature directorial debut. The prison film was written by Bob Jewson, based upon his own experience, while incarcerated, of the 1974 prison riot at Bathurst Correctional Complex and the subsequent Royal Commission into New South Wales Prisons. The film was shot in Clare Valley, Gladstone and the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. It premiered at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival.

Production

Bob Jewson was a prisoner in Bathurst Gaol at the time of the riot and wrote a script, originally called Bathurst, based on the event. Martha Ansara who was working for the Prison Action Group read it and introduced Jewson to Stephen Wallace, who decided to make the film. Other accounts have Tony Green making the introduction.

The New South Wales Film Corporation was looking at investing in some films made by directors who had made successful short films. Wallace had just made the acclaimed one-hour drama The Love Letters from Teralba Road and they asked him if he had any projects. He told them about his prison drama.

As part of his preparations, Wallace had the actors do a clown workshop for four days and a longer workshop of three weeks. Most of them disliked the clown workshop which Wallace later admitted was a mistake.

The original drafts of the script had some female characters, such as a social worker and a girlfriend of Bryan Brown's character, but these were dropped.

The film was shot over five weeks in October and November 1979 in South Australia at Gladstone Gaol. The makers had trouble sourcing enough extras and had to fly them in from Adelaide; some of the actors who did appear had been to prison. Wallace tried to get more Aboriginal extras but was unable.

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