| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (26 min. 8 sec.) ; 157151414 bytes |
| Summary |
Following on from the success of the award-winning ABC television series Choir Of Hard Knocks, choirmaster Jonathon Welch is on a mission. He believes music can change lives and he's out to prove it.This four-part series is a journey of participation and transformation in an unfamiliar world and humanises those on the inside.In an unprecedented move, Corrections Victoria has allowed Jonathon to begin a choir inside Tarrengower Prison, a low security women's prison in regional Victoria. It's the first time a documentary series has been filmed in a Victorian prison. The prison and Jonathon share an objective: to restore the prisoners' self-esteem and improve their rehabilitative prospects. But can Jonathon's song and dance routines have any lasting effect on these women? Can a simple choir experience change the re-offending rate of these women? Jonathon is confident but Corrections Victoria is not so sure. The result is an amazing journey for 23 women prisoners.Over the course of the series, Jonathon conducts rehearsals and teaches the women how to sing. In practical and demanding sessions he drills the women as he would any other choir. He makes no concessions for where they are or what they've done; he treats them as he would any other singing students.As Jonathon gets to know the women - so do we. Through them we learn about life in jail. Some tell their individual stories and explain how just one mistake landed them on the inside. Whatever their stories, we share their journey through the choir.Jonathon has set high stands and he pushes the women through rehearsal and performance. He also pushes the prison system, asking for more and more to enhance his program and the experience of the women. From small performances in the local community, the choir graduates to performances at the Castlemaine Fringe Festival and the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, the maximum security prison where every female prisoner in Victoria begins her sentence. It's a place all the women despise.PRODUCTION DETAILS:Producers: Alex West and Lucy Maclaren; Series Producer: Tarni James; Director: Brue Permezel; ABC TV Commissioning Editor: Dasha Ross. A Renegade Films production in association with ABC TV, Screen Australia and Film Victoria |
| Event |
Broadcast 2009-11-17 at 20:00:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: G |
| Subject |
Choirs (Music)
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Music therapy.
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Popular music.
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Prisoners -- Recreation.
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Women prisoners -- Rehabilitation.
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Victoria.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
James, Tarni, cast
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Permezel, Bruce, director
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