Project Detail

Letters from Australia

Synopsis

An immersive 360 film, based on letters home written by two Cornish Boys from west Cornwall, who emigrated to Australia in 1864. The recently discovered letters, which provide the inspiration, overarching visual motif and compelling lyrics of the piece, cry out with homesickness, loneliness and separation, and the everyday challenges and triumphs of their pioneering life in an evolving nation. The boys had their mining and farming skills to fall back on; they also brought their culture too, particularly their deep chapel faith.
The Cornish Diaspora of the 19th century saw 250,000 people leave Cornwall, fleeing poverty and seeking opportunities across the globe. Approximately 10% of the population of South Australia, and over 3% of Australia as a whole, has significant Cornish ancestry and the settlement of the areas within of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales are sometimes referred to as ‘Little Cornwall’.
Official Selection Cornwall Film Festival 2024 - Festival World premiere
Official Selection Adelaide Fringe 2025 - Festival International premiere

Visit Film Website

Details

Year: 2024
Type of project: XR / Immersive
Running time: 20 min
Format: 360 immersive full dome production
Director: Dave Hotchkiss
Producer: Dave Hotchkiss, Nick Hart
Executive Producer: Martin Eddy, Dave Hotchkiss, Nick Hart, Miles Sloman
Editor: Dave Hotchkiss
Screenwriter: Nick Hart
Director of Photography: Dave Hotchkiss
Production Designer: Dave Hotchkiss
Sound: Nick Hart
Composer: Nick Hart
Principal cast: Bec Applebee, Steve Jacobs, Miles Sloman, Martin Eddy
Musicians: Elowen Waters, Richard Trethewey, Neal Jolly, Nick Hart, Liam H

Genre

Experimental Music Drama Dance

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Dave Hotchkiss

Visit Website

Page updates

This page was last updated on 30th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

The race to grab the last great prize in mountaineering, K2 in winter, left five dead. It exposed deep fault lines in alpinism today: pressures from commercialisation, toxic effects of social media, and long-brewing tensions between those who’ve been marginalised and those who’ve always basked in the sport’s glory. Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2026 - World premiere

Sport

Troublemaker

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Year: 2026

The struggle against apartheid is recounted through Nelson Mandela’s own voice, drawn from recordings he made while writing his autobiography 'Long Walk to Freedom'. Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2026 - World premiere

Black History Human Rights Biography

The Story of Documentary Film

Director: Mark Cousins

Year: 2026

Tracing the evolution of documentary film across time, examining international landmark works and hidden treasures, while revealing how the form has helped us see and make sense of our world. Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2026 - World premiere

History