Girls on the Wall, directed by Heather Ross

Tomorrow at the Speciality Cinema at 10.15 a.m. and Wednesday at 9.15 p.m.

They're in prison for assault, robbery, car theft and worse.

And their life stories read like an A-Z of drug addiction, child abuse and neglect.

It's fair to say the teenage girls of Warrenville Prison in Illinois are not natural fits for the world of musical theatre.

But with a 50 percent reoffending rate and many girls well on their way to lives in and out of adult prison, that's exactly what they're asked to take a shot at writing and starring in a musical about their lives.

When drama coach Meade Palidofsky first arrives at Warrenville, she finds herself confronted with a bunch of spikey, street-smart girls who are highly sceptical about writing showtime numbers depicting their horrific life stories.

After all, the prison isn't the kind of place where they're encouraged to show their vulnerable sides let alone start singing about them.

But Heather Ross's sensitive and thought-provoking documentary follows them over the weeks and months as they bond over the project and begin to pour their hearts and souls into it.

By turns moving, shocking and funny, Girls on the Wall has you rooting for these young women as they relive their dark pasts.

"If you put it out there," urges Palidofsky, "eventually you're able to let it go."

And as opening night looms closer, the girls have to find the courage to put themselves out there for the world to see and face their futures after the curtain comes down.

This insightful and thought-provoking film will have you rooting for them all the way.