THE PUBLIC

A moving and evocative drama, written by, directed by and starring Emilio Estevez, and also starring Alec Baldwin, Taylor Schilling and Christian Slater, 'The Public' takes place in downtown Cincinnati during a particularly bitter winter where an Arctic blast has made its way to the front doors of the Public Library - where most of the film’s action takes place.

The story revolves around the library patrons, many of whom are homeless, mentally ill and marginalised, as well as the exhausted and overwhelmed staff of librarians who have not infrequently built emotional connections with these regular patrons, along with a sense of obligation to care for them. At odds with library officials as to how to handle the extreme weather, the patrons turn the building into a homeless shelter for the night by staging an 'Occupy' sit-in.

What begins as an act of civil disobedience becomes a stand-off with police and a rush-to-judgement by media who keep speculating about what's really happening. This David versus Goliath story tackles the incredibly challenging issues of homelessness and mental illness and sets the drama inside one of the last bastions of democracy-in-action: your public library.

Click here to read our review of 'The Public'.

To celebrate the release of 'The Public' in cinemas, we're giving you the chance to win a double pass.

Due to the redeemability of passes, this competition is only open to residents of Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.

To win one of five double passes thanks to Rialto, just make sure you follow both steps:

Competition opens at 5:00pm AEST on Sunday 21st July 2019 and closes at 11:59 pm AEST on Sunday 28th July 2019. Five winners will be chosen at random on Monday 29th July 2019. To successfully win, entrants must fulfil the above entry conditions before the time the competition closes. Current members/followers are eligible to enter the competition. Only one entry per person. Only one winner per household. To be a valid winner, the entrant must not have won a prize from SWITCH within the last 28 days. Each winner will receive one double pass to 'The Public'. By entering, you agree to receive occasional emails from SWITCH in the future. If you decide to unsubscribe from these updates, any further entries will not be applicable. Only Australian residents are eligible to enter.