“Stories can change the world”: Sarah Lambert and Glendyn Ivin on The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is the new series landing on Prime Video this summer that takes as its source material the bestselling novel from Holly Ringland of the same name. It’s an Australian-set story that spans over two decades and generations of women, and the impact of trauma and male-perpetrated violence. All unfolds with thriller levels of tense mystery, each episode peeling back layers of secrets and thickening plots, heavy with symbolism and meaning. A fabulous cast of women star in these roles, from newer faces such as Alyla Browne and Alycia Debnam-Carey as the younger and older Alice alongside veteran of the screen Sigourney Weaver, who takes on the moral ambiguity surrounding Alice’s estranged grandmother June with relish, and the always brilliant Asher Keddie (Nine Perfect Strangers) as Sally.
When Alice’s parents are tragically killed in a fire, Sally, the local librarian, wishes to honour the mother’s will and take care of her; but at the last moment, June arrives on the scene to take her back with her to her wildflower farm – a sanctuary for abused women. It’s there that truths are slowly uncovered about Alice’s family’s thorny past. In the way the flowers take on the role of communication where words cannot express all that those suffering want to say, the series captures in its labyrinthine story the complexity and nuance of the experience of trauma and how it can entrap generation after generation, but that there are ways to break free.
The Upcoming had the chance to speak with show creator Sarah Lambert about her journey to discovering the book and adapting it for the screen, the process of choosing her cast and working with them, and how storytelling can be a healing force in the realm of trauma and understanding the impact of violence against women.
Director Glendyn Ivin further spoke about his approach to bringing the novel to life on screen, the specificity of the setting and finding the correct locations in Australia that provide the epic backdrops to the story, and what the show has to say about women’s experiences, both in terms of suffering violence but also the strength of female friendship and camaraderie.
Sarah Bradbury
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is released on Prime Video on 4th August 2023.
Watch the trailer for The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart here:
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