A band of dedicated history buffs have teamed with local actors to produce a film about one convict’s daring escape from Bunbury over a century ago.
The story follows John Boyle O'Reilly, a political prisoner who was sentenced to death but spared for his academic prowess.
Peter Murphy has been working to get the story off the ground and said the first step to getting a feature length film into production was filming a short pilot.
“He wasn’t what you’d call a criminal, he wanted to see Ireland free from the British and some of his actions led him to be incarcerated,” he said.
“We’re planning to film this short preview which will give a strong indication of the direction we want the film to go and hopefully we can crowd fund it.”
Production on the short preview began with the filming of a love scene at Bunbury’s Kings Cottage on Sunday.
“We chose the cottage because it’s historically accurate and the curators are really pulling out all the stops help us out.”
Mr Murphy said he hopes the film will stimulate historical tourism in the region.
“John Boyle escaped and became an influential journalist in America and his story highlights our connection to the rest of the world.”
Blayde Grzelka
Journalist for the Bunbury Mail, Australian Community Media, and Fairfax Media.
Journalist for the Bunbury Mail, Australian Community Media, and Fairfax Media.
