Sydney Underground Film Festival's video: Alice - Sydney Underground Film Festival 2019

Josphine Mackerras | 103mins | Australia | Drama | Sydney Premiere | 2019 Winner: Grand Jury Prize SXSW Official Selection: Seattle International Film Festival, Edinburgh Film Festival, MIFF. “Piponnier dominates every frame, with a mesmerizing screen presence … a festival breakout.” – IndieWire "Alice" is a film that chronicles a woman's emotional journey to reclaiming control of her life. One of this year's must-see films, "Alice" is a revelation for audiences, telling us that it's OK to choose the paths we take, despite what society tells us.” – AwardsCircuit.com Alice (Emilie Piponnier) lives what seems to be the perfect life in Paris with her husband, François and their son, Jules. When François suddenly disappears however, Alice discovers his addiction to escorts has left her near-destitute. As the bills pile up and she is threatened with eviction, Alice finds herself drawn into the world of high-end prostitution to provide for herself and her son. At times bitterly funny but always brutally honest, the film traces Alice’s journey towards her own kind of freedom. Winner of this year’s Grand Jury Award at SXSW, with Alice, Australian filmmaker Mackerras has crafted an understated and unadorned debut, striking for its lack of melodrama and unsensationalised representation of sex work. Piponnier rivets as a woman who has always done what’s expected of her suddenly pushed to do what she never imagined she could - her transformation revolutionary – defying patriarchy’s suffocating constraints and raising complex ethical questions without ever moralising.