By JESSE GRAHAM
A HEALESVILLE Sanctuary program that connected rehabilitating birds with rehabilitating prisoners is set for the big screen this week, with the release of the new film, Healing.
Healing focuses on the life of Viktor Khadem (Don Hany), a prisoner nearing the end of his sentence, who takes part in a program that ran between Won Wron Prison and Healesville Sanctuary.
The program allows the men at the prison, who are themselves rehabilitating, to help with the rehabilitation of injured birds.
Throughout Healing, Viktor, who is broken down from his years in the correctional system and for his crime in the past, is the test case as part of the program, under the guidance of case worker Matt Perry (Hugo Weaving).
Director and writer of Healing, Craig Monahan, said that he first got the idea for the film from his co-writer Alison Nisselle, who showed him an article on the program in 1998.
“We thought there was something there worth pursuing – to see if there was a film in it,” he said.
Mr Monahan says that Healing is not a prison film, but a film that focuses on relationships and the metaphors that exist between the broken men and broken birds.
Scenes in the film were made at Healesville Sanctuary, with two days of filming for the production taking place in Healesville.
Healing will be released in cinemas from 8 May.
For the full story, see next week’s Mail.
