'' Stir '' is a 1980 Australian film directed by Stephen Wallace in his feature directorial debut . The prison film was written by Bob Jewson , based upon his own experience , while incarcerated , of the 1974 prison riot at Bathurst Correctional Complex and the subsequent Royal Commission into New South Wales Prisons . The film was shot in Clare Valley , Gladstone and the Flinders Ranges in South Australia . It premiered at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival
1980 Cannes Film Festival
1980 Cannes Film Festival
Stir (film)