A Shark Island Productions film with the Salvation Army, Wall Boy tells the true tale of a vulnerable 16 year old boy forced to work as a male prostitute at Sydney’s notorious ‘Wall’ on Darlinghurst Road. A youth worker from the Salvation Army becomes the only person who can save him from certain death at the hands of a street predator and a spiralling drug habit. Wall Boy’s predicament is frighteningly common, and the film demonstrates the grim reality of youth homelessness and the value of intervention services in turning young lives around.

Wall Boy is a companion piece to Ian Darling’s Polly and Me, a harrowing glimpse into the life of an abused and neglected 8 year old girl. The education and outreach strategy for both short films follows in the footsteps of the 2008 award-winning documentary, The Oasis, another Shark Island Productions film . Wall Boy has been accompanied by a study guide and an interactive website and, together with Polly and Me, was distributed to schools, youth centres, social work courses and social welfare organisations.

We are delighted to be able to support filmmaker Ian Darling in realising his vision for social impact documentaries.

Shark Island Institute