Through Hell's Gates

In 1823 Alexander Pearce would have done anything to return to Ireland and the love of his family, so he escaped from the most-vile prison on Earth.

Chained in his Hobart Town jail cell, Pearce begins relating his tale of escape to the Rev. Robert Knopwood, minister and Magistrate in Van Diemen’s Land during the convict era. From here we journey through a tale-within-a-tale as Pearce and six other convicts escape from the brutal lumber camps of Macquarie Harbor.

Pearce and the other members of his lumber gang pile unto the rain forests of Van Diemen’s Land without food, maps, hunting gear or even a compass. Almost immediately the men quarrel and a power struggle ensues between Dalton, an ex-soldier and Pearce’s friend, and Greenhill, an old mariner and holder of the group’s only tool and weapon: an axe; forcing the group to all but split into two camps. As the 200 mile journey progresses, Pearce and the escapees descend into a savagery to match their surroundings and their true natures: the men begin to kill and eat each other amid a murderous, twisted gang hierarchy, presided over by the maniacal Greenhill and his fetid sidekick Travers. Ultimately Pearce becomes the sole survivor of the trek through cunning manipulation, tragic betrayal and outstanding dumb luck, only to be re-captured at the end of his journey.

Juxtaposed with the raw nature and violence of the rain forest trek are scenes of Pearce’s interrogation by Knopwood in the confines of his small stone jail cell.  Pearce’s tale is one which Knopwood rejects with every fiber of his soul. Pearce’s savage story rips at Knopwood’s Christian conscience in ways so horrific that the Reverend sentences Pearce to 150 lashes for his crimes of escaping… and lying.

This is a true story of fierce determination in the face of oppression so inhuman that a man is brought to break the most fundamental laws of existence for the slightest chance of escape. Combining intense characterization, drama and a vast and unrelenting wilderness, this is a visceral mix of scenic majesty and dark kinetic energy.

Writer:             Bernard O'Regan / J.D. Gandley

Director:          Aisling Walsh

Producer:         Mark Overett / Cathy Overett

(IE) Producer:  Dominic Wright / Jacqueline Kerrin

Status:            start shoot mid 2009

Budget:           AUD $8-10 million

Production:      2009

Irish / Australian Co-production in association with Rippleworld Pictures (IE)