1814. Van Diemen’s Land, the notorious British penal colony, has dissolved into chaos. Outlaws roaming the wilderness have pushed the colonial government to breaking point. Driven by a deep sense of loyalty and an unquenchable hatred towards those he once served, English convict Michael Howe and a young aboriginal girl turn a desperate band of convicts, deserters and bushmen into a fearsome guerrilla army and lead them in open rebellion against the brutal, corrupt establishment. As the British hunt the outlaws, Howe remains an elusive prize. In desperation, the Governor makes the capture of Howe’s pregnant girl his priority. An epic story of love and betrayal, The Outlaw Michael Howe chronicles the astonishing true story of the man who pushed Australia to the brink of civil war.
In the 1820s, Alexander Pearce is sent to the remote and harsh penal colony in Van Diemen's Land for theft. As he endures the brutality and starvation, he forms a plan to escape with seven other convicts. Stranded in the wilderness, they face hunger, cannibalism, and the unforgiving environment. Pearce's last confession reveals the horrifying lengths he went to survive.
The emotional, true story of Ikey Solomon, an infamous British convict whose life is considered to have been the inspiration for Dickens’ Fagin of Oliver Twist and perhaps also an influence on the creation of the felon Magwitch of Great Expectations. The First Fagin seamlessly blends narration (by Miriam Margolyes of Harry Potter movie fame), still photography, historical records, interviews with scholars and historians, and vivid dramatic re-enactment. Using an entirely Tasmanian cast as well as the picturesque Tasmanian landscape and historical sites as background for the drama, the film also offers insight into the 19th century British penal colony in Van Diemen’s Land.
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