“Alice” has found a home ahead of its world premiere at next month’s Sundance Film Festival. A press release announced that Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions acquired U.S. rights to the Keke Palmer-starrer.
Written and directed by Krystin Ver Linden (“American Roulette”), the dramatic thriller tells the story of Alice, “an enslaved person yearning for freedom on a rural Georgia plantation under its brutal and disturbed owner Paul (Jonny Lee Miller). After a violent clash with Paul, she flees through the neighboring woods and stumbles onto the unfamiliar sight of a highway, soon discovering the year is actually 1973. Rescued on the roadside by a disillusioned political activist named Frank (Common), Alice quickly comprehends the lies that have kept her in bondage and the promise of Black liberation. Inspired by true accounts, ‘Alice’ is a modern empowerment fable tracing Alice’s journey through the post-Civil Rights Era American South,” the film’s synopsis details.
Palmer, whose credits include “Hustlers,” “Star,” and “Scream Queens,” is among the project’s exec producers.
“As soon as we saw ‘Alice,’ we knew we had to take it off the market before its Sundance debut,” said Vertical Entertainment Partner Peter Jarowey. “It is that rare film that is at once important, enlightening, and extremely entertaining. Together, Krystin and Keke take us on an inspiring and unforgettable journey that offers a fresh perspective on a little-known and troubling part of our nation’s history.”
Roadside Attractions Co-Presidents Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff added, “We are extremely excited to be bringing Krystin Ver Linden’s brilliant feature debut Alice to U.S. audiences. It features an outstanding cast led by Keke Palmer’s powerful, multi-faceted performance, which confirms her remarkable abilities as a dramatic actress.”
Discussing the impact that making “Alice” had on her, Palmer shared, “That experience has literally propelled me into being that much more fearless when it comes to being free and going and getting myself to work hard and give myself everything that I want and that I can have.” She said that, in the future, she would like to tell “a day in the life” stories about Black women and “normal movies where Black people exist just as humans without struggle.” The “Berlin Station” alumna explained, “I just want to do a movie that’s not about me being Black and how hard it is being Black.”
Sundance is taking place from January 20-30. About 62 percent of Competition titles are directed or co-directed by women.
