A new film on the wreck which led to Bermuda being claimed by the English Crown will get its official public premiere tonight.

And film maker Jean-Pierre Rouja said Downing’s Wreck: The Story of the Sea Venture will be the last word on the loss of the Sea Venture, which hit Bermuda’s reefs while en route to the English colony in Virginia.

Mr Rouja, of film company LookBermuda, said that conventional wisdom was that the Sea Venture wrecked because it not well-designed for the rigours of an Atlantic crossing.

But he added that new state-of-the-art archaeological renderings and 3D computer modellings of the ship showed that it was well-built and if it had not been so strong it might not have survived hurricane conditions to run aground off the Island.

Mr Rouja said: “It’s basically thanks to the design of the Sea Venture we are here today.

“Nobody knew exactly what she looked like, but that comes out in the film. Had it not been so well-built it might have been lost at sea and Bermuda’s history would have been very different — possibly Spanish or Portuguese.”

The documentary — produced in HD to international broadcast standards, a new benchmark in Bermuda film-making — charts the story of the Sea Venture and Bermuda from its wreck in 1609 to its rediscovery off St George’s in 1959 by diver Edmund Downing.

But it was later decided that the wreck could not be the ship that led to the permanent settlement of Bermuda and it was not until 20 years later that opinions changed and the mystery of the vessel’s last resting place was finally solved.

The film also looks at the period of colonial expansion which led to the Sea Venture’s voyage and brings the story up to date with its identification and examination of the timbers that survived on the sea bed for 400 years.

Mr Rouja said: “This is the last word on the Sea Venture — we have compiled all the experts’ information and its definitely the ultimate conclusion.”

The film also features never-before-seen interviews with Mr Downing, who died shortly afterwards, and Allan (Smokey) Wingood, a founding board member of the Bermuda Maritime Museum, captured in the 1980s.

Mr Rouja said: “We wanted to make the film available to a wider public because it’s Heritage Month and this is a crucial part of our history.”

The film has already been shown at the Bermuda International Film Festival and was shown on Tuesday night at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI) on East Broadway.

Mr Rouja said the film’s chapter-style presentation was specially designed for use in schools. It will also be screened on local TV and available online and as a DVD/Blu Ray set.

Mr Rouja added: “After five years in production, this will serve as the official release of the film while we continue developing the curriculum modules in conjunction with public and private school educators.”

Bermuda High School for Girls head of history Harvey Cornish said: “It will be used in all Bermuda schools for the teaching of Bermuda history and has merits for the teaching of other subjects as well.

“I would strongly recommend the use of the Sea Venture film to other International Baccalaureate theory of knowledge teachers here in Bermuda and around the world.”

Warren Jones, former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education, added: “It is an example of the preservation of our history and can assist in developing students’ ability to discern what should be preserved for future generations.”