Prison’s no joke but they’re laughing on inside
THE idea was born in Geelong’s old courthouse and was realised in the city’s historic jail.
Now Prisonpals, a blackly comic web series created by Melbourne-based writers Tim Stone and Jackson Juliani, is to be launched online.
It follows six hardened inmates from HM Prison in Gee- long signed up by their warden to take part in an experimental rehabilitation program.
Psychologist Eric Brof thinks the internet is a tool the prisoners can use to re-connect with family, make new friends, and right the wrongs of their past.
Of course, not everything goes to plan, and a camera crew captures all the action.
Stone and Juliani con- ceived the series while artists-in-residence at Courthouse Arts for three months.
And when they discovered the Old Geelong Gaol, they found their location.
A demonstration episode and a series teaser in 2008 secured some finance from Film Victoria.
The project was further developed with an intensive workshop and more funding from the City of Greater Geelong.
Prisonpals — shot over three days for $11,000 — will be launched on October 30.
Following the debut of the eight, three- minute episodes, there will be a live 24-hour webcast of the prisoners in solitary confinement on prisonpals.tv