On April 28th 1996, a lone gunman killed 35 people and injured another 23 in Port Arthur, Tasmania. More than 25 years later, the aftermath of those events lives on, so that when director Justin Kurzel (The True History Of The Kelly Gang, Macbeth) was first approached about a film on the subject, he was “hoping the script would be terrible” so that he could turn it down.

But having worked with writer Shaun Grant on both Snowtown and The True HistoryOf The Kelly Gang, he knew that wasn’t going to happen. The result is Nitram which, instead of concentrating on the actual shootings, traces the life of the gunman, especially his relationships with his parents and the eccentric woman he lived with, in the years leading up to the incident. Freda Cooper sat down with Kurzel to talk about the challenges that went with bringing the story to the screen and how it hit the headlines in Australia just after filming began. He also discusses how the shooting put the issue of gun control in the nation’s spotlight.

The film’s lead actor, Caleb Landry Jones, won Best Actor at Cannes in 2021 for his shattering performance and Kurzel describes his four lead actors – Jones, Judy Davis, Anthony LaPaglia and Essie Davis – as “a Chekovian ensemble”. And he also gives an insight into the film’s enigmatic title …..

 

Nitram is released in cinemas on 1 July.