'This article examines the current cinematic attention to Tasmania and its stories,
with particular attention paid to the Gothic mode. 'Tasmanian Gothic' has become a
by-word for the unsettling combination of Tasmania's colonial histories and its harsh
landscapes in literature, but its cinematic counterpart has virtually been ignored. It
is suggested that Tasmania is experiencing a renaissance on the big screen and it is
the Gothic that appears to be the most dominant mode through which it is pictured.
The article then charts a history of local Tasmanian Gothic cinematic production, a
hybrid vision that tends towards a combination of stylistic, thematic, historical and
geographic elements. Tasmanian Gothic cinema refers not simply to productions by
Tasmanian film-makers, but to the broader on-screen representation of the island,
its culture and histories by a range of local, interstate and international crews. As
this article suggests, Gothic cinematic representations of Tasmania are yoked by a
number of persistent concerns that act in dialogue with the unique cultural and
geographic positioning of Australia's only island state.' (Author's abstract)