One of three Australian feature films made during the late 2000s about Irish convict Alexander Pearce. The three movies are: 'Dying Breed' (2008), 'Van Diemen's Land' (2009) and 'The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce' (2008) (TV).
The shot was particularly harsh on the cast and crew having to live on location in cold, damp, wet conditions with regular inclement weather.
In 2008, Jonathan auf der Heide's short film 'Hell's Gates', which he wrote, directed and edited, premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), where it won the Best Student Film award and he won the Best Emerging Filmmaker award. With co-writer Oscar Redding, he later adapted this short into this feature film.
The eight real life people who appear as characters in this film are: Alexander Pearce - 32, Irish, thief ;
Robert Greenhill - 32, English, sailor ;
Matthew Travers - 27, Irish, farmer ;
Alexander Dalton - 25, Irish, ex-soldier ;
John Mather - 24, Scottish, bread baker ;
Thomas Bodenham - 22, English, thief ;
William Kennerly - 44, Irish, thief ; and
Edward 'Little' Brown - 48, English, profession unknown.
Director Jonathan auf der Heide for this film in 2009 won a New Visions Award - Special Mention at the Catalonian International Film Festival in Sitges, Spain.