BERLIN - The popular myth that Australia's iconic mystery tale "Picnic at Hanging Rock" is based on true events should help bring it to a global audience, one of its stars said at the Berlin film festival Tuesday.

The story of the strange disappearances of three schoolgirls and their governess at a picnic in the remote Australian bush on Valentine's Day 1900 has been reimagined in a six-part TV drama series.

Its makers promise a fresh take on the unsettling mystery that adds up to a "terrifyingly eerie" supernatural crime drama, with new twists and characters.

"What I love about 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' is everyone thinks the original novel was based on a true story," said Natalie Dormer, of "Game of Thrones" fame, who plays the enigmatic and stern English headmistress Mrs Appleyard.

"It's excellent marketing," Dormer said at the Berlin red carpet premiere.

"They did a fantastic job in the 60s and in the 70s", she said on the 1967 novel by Joan Lindsay, who was deliberately ambiguous about the story's origin, and director Peter Weir's 1975 classic film.

"It's incredibly spooky, whether it's a true story or not." - AP