Airdate: Movie: Healing

Next Sunday ABC screens the 2014 feature film Healing, starring Don Hany as an Iranian man in a regional Victorian prison, who has an affinity for training eagles.

Also starring Hugo Weaving, Anthony Hayes and Justine Clarke this film by Craig Monahan also has a beautiful score by David Hirschfelder.

After 18 years in prison, Viktor Khadem (Hany) is a man who has almost given up on life. He is able to serve out his final year at Won Wron, a low security prison in regional Victoria, where Senior Officer Matt Perry (Weaving) has established a unique program to rehabilitate broken men through giving them the responsibility for the rehabilitation of injured raptors – beautiful, fearsome proud eagles, falcons and owls.

Perry has deeply personal reasons for the project: not so long ago he suffered the catastrophic loss of his only child to illness; the child who shared his love of birds. So when Healesville’s Head of Raptors suggests a rehab project with Won Wron’s inmates caring for the injured birds, Matt grabs it.

But the project crystallizes the day Viktor arrives from maximum security. He comes with a heavy reputation, so Matt thinks if he puts Viktor in charge of the birds, the others will be too afraid of him to sabotage the project.

Along with Viktor arrives the withdrawn and fragile Paul Atherton (Xavier Samuel). Their reluctant new roommate Shane Harrison (Mark Winter), has his own reasons for not wanting Viktor around, but that Viktor is infinitely more feared than inmates like Warren (Tony Hayes) occurs to Shane the day Viktor first meets his eagle, Yasmine, a magnificent but badly injured creature with a six foot wingspan.

Sunday November 23 at 9.15pm ABC.