Dir. Charby Ibrahim - 2018 - Australia - Language: English

A 16-year-old in a secure facility awaits sentencing, to be determined once the gravity of the offence reveals itself. Animated and anonymous, the subject invites the viewer into his dilemma.

"Having worked in a juvenile detention centre as a teacher for some years now, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet hundreds of wonderfully complex young people... and I dare say that I’ve grown rather fond of so many of them over the years. Sure, they can be quite challenging at times, but their behaviours do not exist in a vacuum. Through this film, ‘The Holiday Inn-Side’, I’m eager to offer a little context to these ‘anti-social’ behaviours, and to give audiences the opportunity to get to know the person behind the behaviour, so that they might understand the circumstances that could lead a young person down the criminal path. Although there are some exceptions to the rule, generally speaking, so many of these kids have experienced some kind of significant trauma in their rather short lives to-date. This certainly doesn’t excuse their criminal activity, or the very real harm that they’ve caused others, but it does go a very long way to explaining so much of it." Charby Ibrahim