Electric Shadow Company, Rogan Productions join forces for Original Sin

The trial of Gerhard Jansen van Vuuren features in Original Sin

UK-based production and financing group Electric Shadow Company (ESC) and London-based factual indie Rogan Productions have teamed up to produce a documentary about a convicted murderer who escaped prison and evaded the authorities for years.

Original Sin examines the investigation of Gerhard Jansen van Vuuren who, after allegedly violently murdering his girlfriend in front of witnesses and CCTV cameras, escaped prison twice and went on the run. Successfully evading authorities across two continents for years, van Vuuren assumed three different identities and started families with several different women before he was caught in 2020.

The mini-series is directed by John Gutierrez (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin’ Down a Dream). Producers are Sarah Laita and Jay Taylor for ESC and Mark Hedgecoe, James Rogan and Soleta Rogan for Rogan Productions.

Original Sin is an ESC, Rogan Productions and MultiChoice studios coproduction in association with Combined Artistic Productions and Red Earth.

ESC co-founder and CEO, Jay Taylor, said: “John wonderfully reveals how van Vuuren, armed with his cunning and deception, unbelievably manipulated the authorities in multiple nations and maintained his freedom for so long. Interwoven in this clever, macabre cat-and-mouse tale is an exploration of van Vuuren’s upbringing. John takes the audience on a journey into van Vuuren’s violent childhood, creating insight into the making of an alleged murderer and explores the influences of nature versus nurture.”