The First Fagin

Directed by Helen Gaynor

The emotional, true story of Ikey Solomon, an infamous British convict whose life is considered to have been the inspiration for Dickens’ Fagin of Oliver Twist and perhaps also an influence on the creation of the felon Magwitch of Great Expectations. The First Fagin seamlessly blends narration (by Miriam Margolyes of Harry Potter movie fame), still photography, historical records, interviews with scholars and historians, and vivid dramatic re-enactment. Using an entirely Tasmanian cast as well as the picturesque Tasmanian landscape and historical sites as background for the drama, the film also offers insight into the 19th century British penal colony in Van Diemen’s Land.