Period Drama Projects
Stories grounded in research, Country and collaboration.
MLA develops historical film and screen projects that explore Country, Culture and Australia's shared history — using storytelling as a catalyst for education, cultural preservation and lasting community impact.
Feature Film
(Development, Scripted)
Production Set for September, 2027
The untold true story and bloodline of William Buckley, an escaped British convict, and his relationship with Wadawurrung woman and resistance fighter Purramurnin Tullawurnin. Set in early 1800s Victoria, this tale unfolds during the tumultuous period of land grabbing from Indigenous communities and the founding of the Geelong and Melbourne settlements.
Period Drama Series
Development, First Episode, Treatment & Series Bible Written
6 Episodes
In the turbulent frontier of early 19th-century Van Diemen’s Land, a young Palawa woman, Truganini, is thrust into a harrowing struggle for survival as British colonisation spreads across her Country. Against the escalating violence of the Black War and Black Line, she witnesses dispossession, resistance, betrayal and devastating loss as her people fight to survive an expanding colonial frontier.
Her story becomes intertwined with George Augustus Robinson, the government-appointed “conciliator” who sets out on his so-called Friendly Mission accompanied by Truganini and other Palawa people as guides and intermediaries. Promising protection and sanctuary from frontier violence, Robinson travels across Van Diemen’s Land seeking the remaining Aboriginal clans — a mission that ultimately contributes to their capture, displacement and removal from Country.
Running alongside their journey is the story of John Batman and Eliza Callaghan and their growing family, building a new life in the colony as the frontier conflict intensifies around them. Batman rises from grazier and landholder to become involved in government-sanctioned roving parties pursuing Aboriginal people, placing the ambitions of the colonial family directly against the devastating consequences of settlement.
Across six episodes, these lives intersect against the backdrop of the Black War, the Black Line and the Friendly Mission, revealing vastly different experiences of the same historical moment. Through Truganini, Robinson and the Batman family, the series explores survival, resistance, family, ambition, Country, betrayal and humanity — and the events that transformed Tasmania before following their legacy across Bass Strait into the emerging colony of Victoria.
Feature Film
Story Treatment, Development
Torres, Terra Australi Incognita is based from our short film on Torres, in 1605, a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós set sail in search of the fabled "Great Southern Land." Among them was Luis Vaz de Torres, whose journey through the treacherous waters now known as the Torres Strait would leave a lasting mark on history. As storms scattered the fleet, Torres pressed forward, encountering Indigenous communities, claiming land, and capturing children for forced baptism in Manila.
Through historical reenactments and investigative storytelling, Torres explores the dark intersections of colonial ambition and Indigenous survival, shedding light on the overlooked origins of Australia’s name.
Short Films Projects
(Short Film, Completed, 2026)
After releasing a book in 1856 about his 32 years living with the Wadawurrung people, escaped convict, William Buckley dies. But his spirit — his moorup — journeys back across the oceans to Country, drawn by the distant voice of a young girl calling to him from a fire, as he witnesses the devastating impacts of colonisation unfolding across the land he once called home.
Moorups Call is a 13-minute psychological period drama developed in collaboration with First Nations communities on Wadawurrung Country. Created as a proof-of-concept for the feature film Magic Lands: Ngarram – Where Two Worlds Collide, the short explores themes of culture, identity and connection to Country while helping establish the visual and storytelling foundations of the larger production. Guided by Elders, cultural advisors and community members, the film reflects a commitment to authentic and respectful storytelling.
Directed by James Vegter
Produced by
RooH Productions
Registars
Magic Lands Alliance
Starring
Cassie Puruntatameri
Alinta Dingley
James Vegter
Andrew Clark
Release Date TBA 2026
Short Film, Completed, 2023, 5.32 mins
Set in 1852 on Wadawurrung Country, Garra’s Chance follows Garra, a 15-year-old Indigenous girl believed to be the daughter of Wadawurrung woman Purranmurnin Tullawurnin and escaped British convict William Buckley. Hiding in the Anakie Mountains and pursued by colonists, Garra must draw on her connection to Country and the guidance of her ancestors to survive.
Created as a concept film exploring the mystery surrounding Buckley and Purranmurnin Tullawurnin’s daughter, the production initially named the character Garra. During the project, further historical records were uncovered indicating that their daughter survived and was known as Fanny — opening another chapter in the story that will be explored through the larger Magic Lands project.
Filmed on Wadawurrung Country in a single day, Garra’s Chance was created with support and collaboration from First Nations organisations, local community members, conservation partners and local government.
Directed by James Vegter
Starring Alinta Dingley, Stephen Carracher
Produced by RooH Productions / Magic Lands Alliance/ Love Hate Films
Concept for Magic Lands Series
Completed, 2024, Short Film, 5:44 mins
In 1606, Spanish navigator Luis Vaz de Torres continued an expedition across the Pacific in search of the “Great Southern Land.” After becoming separated from expedition leader Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, Torres sailed west and navigated the dangerous reefs and islands between New Guinea and the Australian continent — through the waters that would later bear his name.
Torres is a short historical concept film exploring the early European voyages through the Pacific and Torres Strait, including the little-known story behind the naming of “Australia” and the encounters between European explorers and Indigenous peoples of the region. The film also confronts the darker history of the voyage, including Torres’ crew taking Indigenous children from New Guinea and the Torres Strait, whose ultimate fate remains unknown.
Produced by RooH Productions / Magic Lands Alliance
Directed by James Vegter
Starring
Perina Drummond
James Vegter
Concept for Feature Film in Development
More Information
Research Films
During our travels and research for the Magic Lands, Ngarram: Where Two Worlds Collide feature film project, we recognised a clear gap in accessible educational media that presents both Indigenous and colonial perspectives of Australian history.
Through the MLA Edcuational Series, we aim to share the stories, interviews, sciences, history, cultural ways of people, ecology and landscapes of Country — revealing how they existed before colonisation, how they have changed through time, and what they represent today.
Become Part of the Story
Help create lasting outcomes through film, education, culture and community engagement.