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Synopsis In 1822, eight men escape from the most isolated and brutal prison onearth, Sarah Island in Van Diemen’s Land. Only one man survives and his tale of betrayal, murder and cannibalism shocks the British establishment to the core. The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce follows the final days of the Irish convict’s life as he awaits execution. The year is 1824 and the British penal colony of Van Diemen's Land is little more than a living hell. Chained to a wall in the darkness of a cell under Hobart Gaol, Pearce is visited by Father Connolly, the parish priest of the fledgling colony and fellow Irishman. The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce draws a visceral and compelling picture of a hell on earth and tells how one man endured the unimaginable by doing the unthinkable. |
Told as a factual drama, The Last Confessions of Alexander Pearce features stunning and foreboding landscape of South West Tasmania and immaculate acting performances that draw a visceral and compelling picture. The production was filmed in and around the Franklin/Gordon National Park, and included location shots around Derwent Bridge, and Lake St Clare.
As a story set in Van Dieman’s Land, Tasmania’s previous name, shooting on Location was central to the integrity and storyline of this production.
“HALF an actor’s motivation and their character’s raison d’etre can come from the right location….. Much of the text for The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce is, as the title suggests, verbatim Pearce’s confession to his captors. Having laboured hard to shepherd these historic words into dramatic form, it was exhilarating to work with the cast as they plunged into the moment-to-moment realities of this tragedy. A task often made profound by the setting - some of the last truly wild and overwhelming country in Australia’s treasury.”
Michael James Rowland, Director
The production employed eight Tasmanian crew members, five Tasmanian cast members and a number of local extras.
| Essential Media & Entertainment Director/Writer: Michael James Rowland Key cast: Adrian Dunbar (Philip Conolly) Tasmanian cast: Peter Dowling (Bodenham) |
Tasmanian crew:
Screen Tasmania attachments: Camera attachment: Tom Waugh
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The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce had its Australian premiere at the State Cinema in North Hobart on 20 November 2008.
The event was a great success and was officially opened with speeches by Screen Tasmania Director Karena Slaninka, and the Minister for Economic Development Michael Aird. A question and answer session was held subsequent to the screening, with director Michael James Rowland, writer/producer Nial Fulton and lead actor Dan Wyllie, followed by drinks and canapés in the cinema’s foyer.
The premiere attracted a solid amount of interest from the local media, with Screen Tasmania securing an interview with Karena Slaninka for Thursday’s ABC Nightly News, two ABC radio interviews, including one with Felicity Ogilvie for ‘The World Today’ and one with Chris Lawrence. The Mercury also covered the event with complimentary photo coverage, and Southern Cross’s nightly news carried a feature the night following the screening.
View media articles and podcasts
Premiere photos
(click on a thumbnail to enlarge)
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Department
of Economic Development and Tourism- Screen Tasmania
Suite 27, Level 1, Salamanca Square, Hobart, Tasmania 7000, Australia
Telephone: (03) 6233 6995 - Fax: (03) 6233 5610 - info@screen.tas.gov.au
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