Unprecedented access

LIFELINE South East SA and the local Suicide Prevention Network have joined forces with the filmmakers to bring the film Songs Inside to the community, and all the proceeds from the event will go towards the costs of bringing the team, including two formerly incarcerated women, over to Mount Gambier to run the community screening as well as show the film to incarcerated men in Mount Gambier Prison.

It’s part of a social impact outreach tour aimed at breaking down stigmas around incarceration and raising awareness of the deep impacts of family violence.

Songs Inside follows nine women in Adelaide Women’s Prison who participate in a music program led by Barkindji singer-songwriter Nancy Bates.

Together, they learn to write songs about their experiences of incarceration, culminating in a performance with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra inside the prison.

The creative process uncovers their remarkable storytelling and comic talents alongside glimpses of their complex trauma histories and struggles with addiction.

The film also explores the power of music to reignite dreams and instil hope.

Director Shalom Almond spent spent six months full-time with her camera inside the Adelaide Women’s Prison following the journey of a group of prisoners who sign up for a unique music program called the Song Birds, led by talented First Nations singer/songwriter Nancy Bates.

“I was granted unprecedented access by the Department for Correctional Services to film in all areas of the prison, with no subject matter or scenario off limits – whether it be spending hours alone with women talking in their cells, following them to video court appearances or being investigated and raided for drugs,” Shalom said.

“This allowed me to completely immerse myself in the prison environment and develop intense, meaningful and trusting relationships with those involved.

“The result is a shockingly honest insight into the lives of women in prison and the transformative power that music can have on their futures. The stories of the women I followed are woven together to create an urgent, complex and compassionate portrait of incarcerated women today.

“The group were a young demographic who relied heavily on the support of their families on the outside as their lifeline in prison. Most of them had suffered severe trauma and struggled with methamphetamine addiction since they were teenagers. These common threads opened up broader themes about the direct link between addiction, trauma and incarceration and the devastating impact that both have on families and communities, as well as the uncertainties that lie ahead for these women once they leave for life beyond the prison gates.”

Screening Details:

Date: Wednesday 8 October

Time: 6.30pm

Venue: Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre, Mount Gambier

Audience: Community Corrections staff, families, clients, and the general public

Includes: Q&A with director Shalom Almond and film participants

Accolades: