Sync: One-way journey to Van Dieman’s Land

 185 years after his execution, Alexander Pearce is more popular than ever, with the release of another film about Tasmania’s infamous convict . Annabel Mccully reports.

“[Working title] Hell’s Gates was a reference to Dante’s Inferno (The Divine Comedy), and in writing the script we paralleled Alexander Pearce’s journey through the depths of Van Diemen’s Land to Dante’s own journey through the depths of hell,” explains writer/director Jonathan auf der Heide about the name change of his debut feature, Van Diemen’s Land. “That was our character arc right there, but too many people mistook it for a horror film.”

“Van Diemen’s Land [the former name for Tasmania] represents a period of Australian history; it conjures up the notion of the birth of a nation and the blood required for that. It’s a strong reference point,” adds writer/executive producer Oscar Redding, who also plays Pearce.