We chatted with director Krystin Ver Linden about her new film Alice which is in theaters now. The dramatic thriller, which is written and directed by Ver Linden, stars Keke Palmer (Winx Club, Hustlers), Common (Hell on Wheels, Suicide Squad), Jonny Lee Miller (Æon Flux, Elementary), Gaius Charles (Friday Night Lights Grey’s Anatomy), Alicia Witt (I Care A Lot, Orange is the New Black) and NaTasha Yvette Williams (Sweet Little Lies, I Take Thee Zoe).

Alice Synosis

Alice (Keke Palmer) yearns for freedom as an enslaved person on a rural Georgia plantation. After a violent clash with its brutal and disturbed owner, Paul (Jonny Lee Miller), 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 events, Alice is a modern empowerment story tracing Alice’s journey through the post-Civil Rights Era American South.

Check out our conversation below.

When did you decide that storytelling was something you wanted to do?

Krystin Ver Linden (KVL): From the time I was about 6 years old. I remember watching “Lawrence of Arabia” and falling in love with the movie and falling in love with how that movie was made. From then on, I started following the director David Lean’s career but also that got me into following other directors’careers. I fell in love with Akira Kurosawa, Sam Peckinpah, Sergio Leone, Andrei Tarkovsky,and Fellini. They really were the godfathers of the makings of who I became creatively.

How did you get involved with directing?

KVL: Through screenwriting. All of the people that I looked up to got their entrances through becoming screenwriters. So, I followed that path because it was a way to express the things, the stories I wanted to tell, and it was free. It worked in tandem towards my ultimate goal of becoming a director, and so, you get good at your craft as a screenwriter. My hope was that if I mastered screenwriting, someone would give me the opportunity and see that I had a vision and a voice to become a director.

What can people expect from Alice, and what were some goals in mind when making this film?

KVL: People can expect a movie of empowerment and a movie that reminds people that their individuality is their superpower. And it will remind people to never let anyone project their own opinions on you and to define yourself on your own terms.

The goals in mind were to get those themes across, and to be as true to the true events that inspired me, and to film it in a very visually stunning and poetic way.

What is the hardest thing about being a filmmaker?

KVL: Well, mine was Covid, but I think beyond a worldwide pandemic, the hardest thing would be probably just making sure you make a safe environment for your actors to feel safe and loved and nurtured, to express themselves fully. The hardest thing for ALICE was the shoots. It was a 22-dayshoot, so every day was like guerilla style filmmaking where you’re running from one set to the next and trying to make your days. We were fitting so many scenes into a day that it almost felt undoable. So that would be the hardest thing. On the next one, that won’t be the case, so we’ll see what that one brings.

What is the most rewarding thing about being a filmmaker?

KVL: Having a platform to tell stories that elevate and hopefully help humanity be more themselves and love themselves.

What advice would you give to aspiring female directors?

KVL: I would say, if you want to become a director, write a screenplay or a story, even if it’s not with the intention of becoming a screenwriter. And to really realize what your voice is and to force yourself to visualize outside of the technical aspect of directing. It forces you to really hone in on who you are as a person and what you have to say for the world. I would say tell a story of any kind, write it down, then realize what your voice is and go from there.

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Click here for tickets to see Alice

Follow Alice: Instagram

Follow Krystin Ver Linden: Instagram

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