Maximum security

Australia, 1978

Please note

Sorry, we don't have images or video for this item.

This film describes life in the “intractable” section of a maximum security jail based on prisoners’ actual accounts. The “tracs” sections are notorious jails inside the jails, totally isolated from the outside world and beyond the reach of the law and of public scrutiny. A work funded through the Experimental Film and Television Fund.

Content notification

Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.

Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.

How to watch

This work has not been digitised and is currently unavailable to view online. It may be possible for approved reseachers to view onsite at ACMI.

Learn more about accessing our collection

Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

director

Mark Stiles

production company

Prisoners' Action Group

Duration

00:08:34:00

Production places

Australia

Production dates

1978

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

016292

Language

English

Subject categories

Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Interviews

Archival, Cinemagazines & Newsreels

Archival, Cinemagazines & Newsreels → Archival materials

Archival, Cinemagazines & Newsreels → Interviews

Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Criminal justice, Administration of

Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Prison discipline

Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Prison psychology

Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Prison violence

Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Prisoners

Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Prisoners - Attitudes

Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Prisoners - Australia

Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Prisons

Documentary

Documentary → Documentary films - Australia

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Public welfare - Australia

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Social isolation

Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Social isolation

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Prison psychology

History → Public institutions - Australia - History

People → Interviews

Short films

Short films → Short films - Australia

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Holdings

16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/77898--maximum-security/ |title=Maximum security |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=15 May 2025 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}