All too often, great Australian films get lost upon their release, for no fault of their making. Our cinema industry has a habit of burying its own, then claiming ‘Australians don’t want to watch Australian films’. Sadly, it usually takes an international cult following to give legitimacy to something we should have been championing ourselves all along. Lake Mungo is a case in point.

On Thursday 27th February, INSIDE––starring Guy Pearce, Cosmo Jarvis and Vincent Miller––gets released locally and I’m really hoping it doesn’t suffer the fate of many other Australian features. It’s a stunning exploration of intergenerational trauma, addiction, poverty and crime. It’s also the debut feature of writer-director-producer Charles Williams, who draws from his personal family experiences to give even greater gravitas to this story of a young man being transferred from juvenile detention to an adult prison population.

To support the release, I interviewed Charles Williams for the Primal Screen radio show, which you can listen to in full (30 minutes) on the Triple R website. Or, just play it directly here:

Guy Pearce is at his career-best with a Victorian-specific performance (and when I say ‘Victorian’, I’m referring to the Australian state/territory, not the era). Cosmo Jarvis is absolutely transformative. Toby Wallace has a small but pivotal role. Vincent Miller is the big revelation––his debut screen performance playing an 18 year-old while only aged 15 (usually, it’s the other way around). And here’s the trailer to further whet your appetite: