Maidenhead
is a short film funded by the Australian Film Commission and developed
by writer/director Marie Craven and producer John Cruthers. It
stars Alice Garner as Alice - a young woman who moves through
a series of quasi-surreal episodes and encounters with people
in everyday situations. The character Alice is a meld of the numerous
'Alices in Wonderlands' that have been referenced in stories intent
on exploring emotional/psychological transformations that occur
when a female character 'wanders' across unfamilar terrain.
Very much a 'dream narrative', Maidenhead is comprised
of around 7 discrete episodes - each featuring Alice, but none connecting
or linking to each other. They are like random moments or chapters in
her memory or imagination. The staging is very naturalistic, but the
sequencing and flow of the collected episodes doesn't map out any grand
plot situation, but rather details subtle shades of Alice's psyche and
emotional composure.
Maidenhead
premiered at the 44th Melbourne International Film Festival in 1995.
The score to Maidenhead was released on the
CD
Filmmusic Vol.2 by Sound
Punch Records in 2009.