Black and White

Australia, 1958. When a nine year old white girl is found dead, the police quickly arrest Max Stuart, an Aboriginal man who cannot read or write. Under interrogation Stuart signs a confession; his defence argues that it was obtained under pressure. The film tells the struggle of two young and inexperienced lawyers inside a legal order working in the shadow of intimidation. The case was real and caused a great controversy in the country; the royal commission that was convened found the conviction sound, the death sentence was commuted to life, and Stuart was released after eleven years. The film declares him neither guilty nor innocent. Robert Carlyle and Charles Dance appear in Craig Lahiff’s ninety nine minute Australian film, completed in 2002.