Julian Assange's father John Shipton attends Ithaka screening at Capitol Cinemas

John Shipton was at the Capitol Cinema on Wednesday for the screening of Ithaka, a documentary about Mr Assange and his father's fight to save his son.

Mr Assange faces a 175-year sentence if he is extradited to the United States of America, and if found guilty of espionage charges for leaking documents in 2010 and 2011.

"There's an election happening in Australia so we need to convince new government the support is there among Australians to bring Julian home - it's not hard," Mr Shipton said.

"In 1973, we got Gough Whitlam to end the war with a phone call, so all we're asking is to bring Julian home with just a phone call from the Prime Minister to president (Joe) Biden."

Mr Shipton questioned why Mr Assange had been held in prison for the past three years.

"Why hold Julian in a maximum security prison and not out on bail is really questionable - it's a question to the Australian Government who have lacked in action and acquiescence," he said.

Mr Shipton said the response to the screenings and question-and-answer sessions were to full houses.

"People at the screenings are intensely curious about why Julian is still in jail 13 years later," he said.

Mr Shipton said Mr Assange has suffered from years of psychological torture, impacting on him mentally and physically.

He said the campaign had won the support of some Australian parliamentarians, the French National Assembly, and the German, Norweigan, Spanish, Brazilian, Greek and Argentinian parliaments, an ex-president of Brazil and the president of Mexico. "It's a global problem, so there's global support," Mr Shipton said.

Ithaka screens at Showbiz Cinemas Portland on Thursday at 6.30pm but Mr Shipton will not be attending.

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