Torres

Terra Australis Incognita

Historical Drama | Short Film & Feature Film Development

Short Film: Completed 2024 | 5:44 mins
Feature Film: Story Treatment | In Development

In 1605, a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós set sail across the Pacific in search of the legendary Terra Australis Incognita — the “Unknown Southern Land.” Among the expedition was Spanish navigator Luis Vaz de Torres, whose journey would take him through some of the most dangerous and historically significant waters of the Pacific.

After becoming separated from Queirós, Torres continued westward in 1606, navigating the reefs and islands between New Guinea and the Australian continent through the waters that would later bear his name — the Torres Strait.

Torres: Terra Australis Incognita explores this remarkable and often overlooked chapter of Pacific and Australian history, examining the collision of European exploration, colonial ambition and the ancient cultures already inhabiting the region.

Through historical drama and investigative storytelling, the project also confronts the darker dimensions of the expedition, including encounters with Indigenous communities and accounts of Indigenous children being taken during the voyage for forced baptism in Manila, their ultimate fate unknown.

Beginning as a short historical concept film completed in 2024, Torres is now being developed as a feature film, expanding the story into a larger exploration of discovery, cultural encounter, survival and the early European search for the continent that would eventually become known as Australia.

Produced by: RooH Productions / Magic Lands Alliance
Directed by: James Vegter
Starring: Perina Drummond, James Vegter