Hold Up

There is an unexpected turn in this short film from Gaylene Preston. It begins as a drama about a robbery; although there are three key witnesses to the crime, their accounts are all dismissed because they are disabled. The film then becomes a documentary, where the three actors who played the witnesses sit down for an interview. The trio chat about their thoughts on the story, and experiences living with cerebral palsy, blindness and deafness, respectively. Hold Up was made in support of The International Year of the Disabled in 1981; it won awards at both a film festival and a conference devoted to rehabilitation. 

Wait until everyone's gone inside. You take care of the girl behind the counter. I'll grab the money.

– Robber (Joanne Simpson) repeats the plan to her accomplice (Marshall Napier)

Key Cast & Crew

Lorraine Schriener

As: Jean Richardson, Subject

Joanne Simpson

As: Robber

George Theobald

As: Jim Dawson, Subject

Marshall Napier

As: Robber

Gaylene Preston

Director, Writer, Story

Ian Paul

Cinematographer