Film about earlier life of Port Arthur gunman, Nitram, still 'too raw' for many Tasmanians - ABC News

It's been a quarter of a century since the worst massacre in modern Australian history.

Key points:

• Nitram is a film about the Port Arthur perpetrator
• The film's producers say it can create a conversation around the importance of gun laws
• However, many Tasmanians and people connected to the event say they will not be watching

So, when news broke that a film would soon be released depicting the murderer's life and behaviour in the lead-up to the mass shooting, for many people, the reaction was not, "Too soon", but "Why?"

Disturbing and uncomfortable, Nitram dramatises the events before a lone gunman killed 35 people and wounded 22 others at the Port Arthur historic site and Seascape guesthouse in April 1996.

The massacre prompted a major gun reform across Australia, and director Justin Kurzel said he was drawn to take on writer Shaun Grant's screenplay because of its strong message about firearms laws.

"It became very obvious very quickly that it was an anti-gun film," he said.

"There's a particular scene in the film, where the character goes into a gun store.

"And the way he buys these guns like he's buying fishing rods, I found spoke to me about gun reform in a way that I'd never seen before — it emotionally affected me."

Kurzel and Grant have collaborated before, on the 2011 film about the Snowtown murders.

Nitram avoids showing the massacre itself, but news of its production sparked widespread outrage last year, including criticism that portraying the life and motivations of the murderer would inevitably generate sympathy.

Essie Davis and Justin Kurzel on the set of Nitram. (

Supplied: Madman Entertainment

)

"I think that some people watch the film and, you know, they may feel a kind of sympathy," Kurzel said.

"Others I know don't, and they feel as though the character is extremely dangerous.

"For us, it was about trying to find something familiar and recognisable more than anything else."

Kurzel lives in Tasmania, with his wife, actor Essie Davis, who plays the reclusive heiress who befriends the gunman.

Kurzel said he was well aware of the ongoing sensitivities about the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, where even 25 years on, many people refuse to say the gunman's name.

Caleb Landry Jones stars as the Port Arthur killer, and won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his portrayal. (

Supplied: Madman Entertainment

)

The film's title, Nitram, is the gunman's first name reversed.

"The last thing I want to do is bring trauma to this place that I absolutely adore and love," he said.

"But there was something in the script that started a conversation about this event that I know is very hard to have here.

"And I know that wound is still extremely deep, but these sort of tragedies, we need to look at, we need to discuss."

American actor Caleb Landry Jones is the star of the film, with a performance that earned him the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Judy Davis and Anthony LaPaglia play the murderer's parents.

Nitram received no support from Screen Tasmania and the Tasmanian Government refused to engage in any conversations with the filmmakers. The film was shot in Geelong, Victoria.

"Because of the sensitivity of the film, we felt the last thing we wanted to do, especially in that area, was trigger any trauma by recreating particular scenes," Kurzel said.

'It's too raw for them to watch'

Kelly Spaulding was 19 on the day of the Port Arthur massacre, working on a farm on the Tasman Peninsula, when he heard low-flying helicopters.

"It wasn't until I knocked off work and came into the local shop that I heard there had been an incident at Port Arthur," he said.

He raced home to check if his mother, who usually worked at the Port Arthur historic site tearooms, was there.

"Luckily, Mum hadn't been at work that day," Mr Spaulding said.

Mr Spaulding and his mother went to the site to help, not knowing what was unfolding.

"The communications were pretty bad back then," he said.

"So nobody knew [whether] the gunman was out and about or what was happening on that afternoon.

"It was a pretty horrific event, how it unfolded."

Kelly Spaulding was 19 on the day of the Port Arthur massacre on April 26, 1996.(

ABC News: Chris Healy

)

Mr Spaulding is now mayor of the Tasman Peninsula, which includes the settlement of Port Arthur.

He said the 1996 massacre was still raw for many people in the community, and he would not be seeing the film.

"I was there. I saw enough of it. I still see the community suffering," he said. 

After learning about the film after it had already been shot, Mr Spaulding and the filmmakers have been in communication, so he can tell the community what to expect.

"There is a whole generation of new, young people in the area [who] may be curious. They may wish to watch the movie and inform themselves," he said. 

The reflection pool memorial at the Port Arthur Historic Site.(

ABC News: Luke Bowden

)

"I think for anyone like myself that was affected, or worse affected people, they won't have any need to — they know the story.

"It's too raw for them to watch."

Mr Spaulding is in two minds about Nitram being filmed in Victoria.

"If it was filmed here, it would have been quite confronting," he said. 

"But, then there is the other side, that [if it had been filmed on the Tasman Peninsula] at least they would have been putting money back into the community."

'It raises the hairs on the back of your neck'

A quarter century ago, Colin Riley was part of the police team that arrested the Port Arthur gunman.

"It's just one of those things that it is a bookmark in your life," he said. 

Mr Riley, who is now the head of the Police Association of Tasmania, said the prospect of the film had caused anxiety for former and serving police officers who responded to the shooting.

Colin Riley, now head of the Police Association of Tasmania, was one of the officers responding to the 1996 massacre. (

ABC News: Luke Bowden

)

"Every time we talk about Port Arthur, it raises the hairs on the back of your neck," he said.

He said he had no intention of seeing the film.

"It would be good to get to a point where the attraction to Port Arthur evaporates and there isn't the desire to keep talking about it and we move on," he said.

"I think it's a generational thing. It's probably not going to happen in my lifetime, I suspect."

Hobart screenings uncertain

The film will be released on September 30, in parts of the country where cinemas are not affected by COVID-19 restrictions.

It will also be available to stream online later this year.

However, Tasmanian audiences may have difficulty finding it in cinemas.

There has been no real marketing in the state.

It will be shown in Launceston next month, but it is unclear if, or when, it might be screened in Hobart.

"I think there will be those [who] definitely will never want it screened in Tasmania," Kurzel said.

"However, if there's an opportunity for those [who] do want to see it and, especially, generations [who] want to understand and learn more about this event and what changed in Australia after this event, then my hope is that they can have the opportunity to see that."

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2021-09-29 08:26:15Z
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