We follow a guard walking through an old penitentiary, a meagre meal on a tin plate in his hand. As he moves along the cold, dark halls, we hear the voice of a prisoner telling his tale –

and realise the meal is for him, and it will be his last before he’s executed. It’s a heartfelt story, full of frustration and regret. He’s innocent, but will die none-the-less. The guard places the meal on the ground, and the prisoner emerges from the shadows. But rather than a man, it’s a dog we see – destined to be put down like thousands before him. As the guard leads him to his end, his emotion changes from anger to sad acceptance. And as the needle does its work, and his eyes close for the last time, he pleads with us to save those still on death row; to adopt a rescue-dog.

The death penalty has been abolished in Australia for almost 60 years, as it has in many countries around the world – which makes the moment of revelation in this film all the more confronting.